News and Publications

General Clinical Research Center

Frank V. Chisari, M.D.

E. Beutler, F.V. Chisari, B.L. Zuraw, D.R. Salomon, J.A. Koziol, D.A. Gilder, S.L. Mirkis, C.V. Grininger, K.H. Cox, E.A. Bieger

Established in 1974 with a generous gift from Mrs. William H. Black and Mr. and Mrs. William F. Black, and later supplemented by a donation from the Stein Endowment Fund, the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) is in its 29th year of continuous operation. Financed by a grant of about $2 million annually from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, to provide facilities for investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed research with human subjects, the GCRC is the only one of 80 such centers in the United States that is not affiliated with a university or medical school. The GCRC aims to augment investigative collaborations among the clinicians and researchers at Scripps to facilitate the transfer of basic knowledge generated in research laboratories to the clinical arena, to elucidate pathogenetic mechanisms of disease, and to evaluate new modes of patient management.

The GCRC provides inpatient and outpatient environments in which investigators conduct studies in humans; the protocols are approved for safety by the Human Subjects Committee and for scientific merit by the GCRC Scientific Advisory Committee. The GCRC grant pays many of the costs of this research. GCRC facilities include a highly trained research nursing Staff in a discrete nursing unit in the Scripps Green Hospital. A fully staffed core laboratory provides technical support for specialized research assays; preparation and storage of specimens; samples of normal blood for the laboratories of TSRI; and a DNA-RNA tissue bank, established in cooperation with the Department of Surgery.

In addition, the GCRC operates a computer center with a database and workstation environment for the management of clinical research data, genetic sequencing, and other statistical needs. Additional Staff include a biostatistician for consultation on study design and statistical analysis, a research subject advocate, and professional and administrative personnel to help with study design, preparation of protocols, and budgetary matters.

Last year, the GCRC provided these services for about 530 inpatient days and 4750 outpatient visits, processed about 16,130 specimens, and supported several computer-based research protocols from TSRI and Scripps Clinic Medical Group. Thirty-six patient-related research protocols were active in the GCRC; the titles and principal investigators of most of them are listed at the end of this report. Many of these projects are described under the names of the individual investigators elsewhere in this volume. A total of 63 investigators made use of the GCRC facilities last year.

Dennis R. Burton, Ph.D.
Human Antibodies to Infectious Agents

Francis Chisari, M.D.
Immunobiology and Pathogenesis of Hepatitis

Sandra Christiansen, M.D.
Asthma Counseling Outcomes in School-Associated Clinics

Cindy Ehlers, Ph.D.
EEG Markers of Alcoholism Risk

Cindy Ehlers, Ph.D.
Response to Ethanol in Asian-, African-, and Native Americans

Ann Feeney, Ph.D.
Molecular Analysis of H influenzae Response

Ann Feeney, Ph.D.
Polymorphisms in Genes of the Immune System

Mary Jo Heeb, Ph.D.
Forms of Prostate-Specific Antigen and hK2 in Cancer

Jeffery Kelly, Ph.D.
Diflunisal for Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy

Lawrence Kline, D.O.
Nasal Inflammation in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treated With CPAP

Thomas Kunicki, Ph.D.
Genetic Variation in Platelet Adhesion Receptors

Thomas Kunicki, Ph.D.
Genetic Basis of Platelet-Related Aspirin Resistance

David A. Mathison, M.D.
Genomic and Molecular Determinants of Airway Hyperreactivity in Human Asthma

John McHutchison, M.D.
Factors Predictive of Disease Progression or Response to Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

Donald E. Mosier, Ph.D., M.D.
Coreceptor Usage and HIV Disease Kinetics

Michael B.A. Oldstone, M.D.
Long-term Immunity After Childhood Measles Vaccination in the Presence or Absence of Circulating Measles

Michael B.A. Oldstone, M.D.
Characterization of Myelin-Specific Immune Response as an Indicator of Disease State in Multiple Sclerosis

Pascal Poignard, M.D.
Viral Evasion and HIV Entry-Blocking Strategies

Zaverio M. Ruggeri, M.D.
Mechanisms of Platelet Thrombus Formation

Daniel R. Salomon, M.D.
Normal Blood-Drawing for TSRI Labs

Donald Stevenson, M.D.
Analgesic Desensitization in Aspirin-Sensitive Asthma

Andrea Suhner, Ph.D.
Melatonin and Estrogen Therapy in Perimenopausal Sleep Dysfunction

Bruce Zuraw, M.D.
Rhinovirus-Mediated Transcription in Airway Inflammation

Bruce Zuraw, M.D.
C1 Inhibitor Therapy in Subjects With Hereditary Angioedema

Bruce Zuraw, M.D.
Disease Variables in Hereditary Angioedema

Bruce Zuraw, M.D.
Signaling in Allergic Inflammation: Kinins, Signaling and Asthma

Bruce Zuraw, M.D.
Initiation and Propagation of Asthmatic Inflammation