Recruitment & Retention (R&R) Initiative
The purpose of the Recruitment & Retention (R&R) initiative is to promote equitable research participation in health research. The R&R team works with other Irving Institute and Columbia resources to provide education to faculty, staff, participants, and the public on the importance of clinical research participation. We aim to do this by providing researchers with access to materials and study specific support. We provide researchers the following services:
Resources for Participant Recruitment and Retention within the Irving Institute & CUIMC
Specialized Services and Consultations
Clinical Trial Design and Innovation – Provides assistance with trial design, protocol development, various data aspects, and trial implementation.
Community Study Promotion Assistance - Irving Institute CECR team offers study promotion through our local community.
Clinical Research Informatics Consultation – Data driven feasibility assessment and cohort identification at CUIMC.
Research Ethics and Human Subjects Consultations - Consultations on ethics and regulatory issues from experts Please visit this consultation webpage.
IRB Liaison Service – Reviews investigators submitted protocols and improves overall quality and efficiency of IRB submissions.
Clinical Trials Office Support for Trial Registration and Results Entry - Resources and information on clinical research for investigators.
Clinical Trials Office IND/IDE Assistance Program (IAP) - Aids Columbia University Faculty members holding an Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) at all stages of an investigation.
Clinical Research Resource - Research facilities including exam rooms, phlebotomy, and lab services for adult and pediatric populations as well as training for all research personnel.
Submitting a Clinical Trial with CTO - Resources and information from the Clinical Trials Office on best practices for clinical trials.
Tools and Templates
RecruitMe - A web-based recruitment platform for Columbia investigators to connect with interested research participants.
Research Match* - Free recruitment registry and feasibility analysis tool for researchers at participating academic institutions across the country.
* = External Program (Not CU/CUIMC)
Criteria2Query Consultation - A natural language interface for cohort identification by clinical researchers; please request a consultation with one of our informatics team members.
AllofUs - A national research program for genetics.
Collaborators for Multisite Studies - Our Network Capacity team connects researchers at CUIMC to research studies and trials, proposed through regional and national networks such as, the TRIAL INNOVATION NETWORK, HEAL, INSIGHT Clinical Research Network (the NYC members of PCORNet), and others.
Multi-Site Trial Recruitment Assistance - Our Trial Innovation Network hub liaison team coordinates with the national network and Vanderbilt University Recruitment Innovation Center.
Clinical Trials Office Regulatory Binder - Overview of essential regulatory files to be maintained for clinical research, as well as useful templates.
Clinical Research Handbook – Reference guide for clinical research coordinators
IRB Protocol and Consent Form Resources – Consent form template language and guidance and additional protocol resources.
Spanish Translation Center – Translation of documents, modifications of pre-existing documents, and review of translations done by external translators.
Columbia Research Policies
General Research Policies – Policies referred to Columbia University faculty and staff engaged in research.
University Policies Website – List of Columbia Universities non-academic policies.
Sponsored Projects Handbook – Provides oversight for governmental and private organizational funded projects, in accordance with University policies.
Animal Research Handbook – Reference for faculty and staff engaged in research using animals.
Environmental Health and Safety Handbook - Reference for faculty and staff conducting research with hazardous materials.
Research Radiation Safety Handbook - Reference for faculty and staff conducting research using sources of ionizing radiation.
Postdoctoral Officers Handbook - Guidance on policies, procedures, and offerings for Columbia University Postdocs.
Training
Are you a clinical research coordinator or other allied personnel looking to learn a new skill for a current or planned research protocol?
Research Coordinator Trainings – Research coordinator seminar series and group trainings available to the Columbia University community.
Clinical Trials Offices’ Clinical Research Coordinator Training Program - Provides standardized basic introductory training to clinical research coordinators and staff who perform related duties. More information here
Looking for something more?
Please share your feedback to help improve our Recruitment and Retention offerings and webpage.
Leadership
Nancy Green, MD
- Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Director of the Irving Institute, and co-Director of RKSERRegulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics
- Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics
Karen S. Marder, MD, MPH
- Sally Kerlin Professor of Neurology, Associate Director of the Irving Institute and Director of CRR and ISP
- Clinical Research Resource / Integrating Special Populations Resource
Chunhua Weng, PhD
- Professor of Biomedical Informatics and co-Director of BMIR
- Biomedical Informatics Resource
Elizabeth Cohn, PhD, RN
- Community Engagement and Research Liaison
- Community Engagement Core Resource
R&R Working Group Member-list
Programatic Support:
Dejda Collins, MA Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics/Team Expertise and Management Support
Liz DiMaria, MHA Administrative Core and Evaluation
Dora Ventura Community Engagement Core Resource
Member list:
Paul Appelbaum, MD Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics
Alejandra Aguirre, DrPH, MPH Community Engagement Core Resource
Linda Busacca Biomedical Informatics Resource
Jane Cho Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics/Clinical Trials Office
Wendy Chung, MD, PhD Precision Medicine Resource
Elizabeth Cohn, PhD Community Engagement Core Resource / Integrating Special Populations Resource
Mitchell Elkind, MD, MS Trial Innovation Network
Helen Kim, PharmD Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics / Clinical Trials Office
Rafael Lantigua, MD Community Engagement Core Resource
Kawthar Muhammad, MPH Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
Sheila O'Byrne, PhD Precision Medicine Resource
Rudi Odeh-Ramadan, PharmD Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics / Clinical Trials Office
Brenda Ruotolo Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics / Institutional Review Board
Tasha Smith, MA, MPH Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics / Institutional Review Board
Debbie Stiles, JD Regulatory Knowledge and Support and Ethics / Executive Vice-President for Research
Ronald Wapner, MD Precision Medicine Resource
Kayla Zalcgendler, MPH Pilot and Collaborative Studies Resource
