If you’ve been paying attention to the news and your social media pages lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of buzz about clinical research at Carilion Clinic.
After all, with more than 120 ongoing clinical trials in 16 specialties seeking to improve people’s lives from childhood to late life, Carilion’s Research and Development team has been making headlines (we've listed just a few here):
- WFIR: Children ages 5-17 with autism are now eligible to participate in a study led by Anita Kablinger, M.D., about the link between gut health and behavior.
- WFXR: We're working with local first responders testing ultrasound devices in the field to more accurately assess and quickly respond to respiratory distress, one of the most frequent types of emergency calls.
- WDBJ7: In partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and BRAINBox Solutions, we are studying new ways to diagnose traumatic brain injuries in the elderly population.
- WDBJ7: Ongoing research into endometriosis, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and more was a key point in this interview with gynecologic oncologist Shannon Armbruster, M.D.,
What you may not realize is that Carilion has been involved in moving medicine forward through rigorous clinical research for decades—as far back as polio research.
Read on for just a few highlights from where we’ve been—and where we’re taking medicine now.
Cardiology Research
1970
As far back as 1970, Carilion Clinic participated in statewide research aimed at improving coronary care. The goal was to determine the effectiveness of intensive care units for patients who have suffered heart attacks.
Today
Carilion now offers a variety of minimally invasive treatment options for cardiac patients, and our experts are leading research looking for more. Chalak Berzingi, M.D.; Mohd Mirza, M.D.; and Jacek Slowikowski, M.D., serve as primary investigators on five coronary artery disease clinical trials we currently offer that are investigating new ways to treat patients with artery blockages.
Infectious Diseases Research
1961
Carilion’s Wilson Kolmer, M.D., collaborated with a local family physician to develop and conduct a 3-year study on the polio vaccine. Together they interviewed over 200 hospitalized patients and reached a finding that may sound familiar today: 72.6% of interviewed patients—and 78% of those with more severe symptoms—had not received the polio vaccine.
Today
Carilion Clinic participated in several treatment trials and public health surveillance studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collaborated with international, national and statewide consortiums to study treatment methods and antibody seroprevalence, enrolling thousands of participants using innovative recruitment methods and leveraging the trust of our community during a difficult time.
Oncology Research
1974
Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s first cancer research project began with a $700 gift from the auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). Carilion hematologist Charles Crockett, M.D., said at the time that the study was intended to determine the possible correlation between malignancy and a certain abnormal protein condition in the blood. Carilion pathologist Samuel Vance, M.D., guided the research, which was carried out by Dan Perry, a resident in family practice.
Today
Carilion currently offers more than 60 oncology clinical trials ranging from pediatrics to gynecology, with surgical oncology research on the near horizon. Recognizing the growing need for cancer care in our region and the impact of cancer research worldwide, we are developing a world-class cancer center that will enable us to expand oncology research even further, close to home.
Pulmonology Research
1968
Carilion Clinic was part of the first concentrated research program seeking better treatments for hyaline membrane disease, a respiratory condition that was often fatal to newborns and premature babies. In a preview of today’s frequent collaboration with Virginia Tech and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Carilion staff at Roanoke Memorial Hospital worked with Virginia Tech’s Leon Arp, Ph.D., to test a respirator he invented to assist with newborns’ breathing.
Today
Carilion Clinic currently has four pulmonology hypertension clinical trials in process. Sameh Aziz, M.D., and Moises Cossio, D.O., both lead pulmonary research studying ways to alleviate shortness of breath caused by various chronic conditions.
Telemedicine Research
1966
As research led to more effective ways to monitor cardiac patients, Carilion Clinic opened the area’s first intensive care unit for critically ill patients with eight beds on the sixth floor of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The beds were equipped with cardiac monitors that could be observed at the nurses’ station. At the time, it was similar to the equipment used to monitor NASA astronauts in space.
Today
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital has 95 adult ICU beds, 35 dedicated to our Cardiovascular Institute (CVI). CVI has one of our largest portfolios of clinical trials and our investigators are regularly named top enrolling investigators across the nation.
Remote monitoring of patients’ vital signs and other health indicators is no longer limited the ICU or even to inpatients; new technologies like implanted devices and even smartwatch-type wearables now allow our Home Care team to remotely monitor patients with chronic conditions as they go about their lives.
Looking Forward
We are at an exciting time in medicine.
Using new technologies, we are conducting fully remote clinical trials and collaborating with health care and research organizations throughout the U.S. And the trials we lead have the potential to result in new medicines, innovative devices and advanced procedures that will improve health care for patients around the world.
For patients at Carilion, that forward focus results in better care today. Seventy-five Carilion physicians are currently leading clinical trials in 16 specialties—and those numbers continue to grow under the focused leadership of:
- Robert Trestman, Ph.D., M.D., Institutional Research Officer; Senior Vice President and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
- Francis X. Farrell, Ph.D., Senior Director, Research and Development
Their team of over 40 dedicated research administrators, coordinators and assistants manages the business aspects of clinical research, including contracts, funding and regulatory support.
This frees our clinician-researchers to focus on the patients who participate in those trials.
And while innovation in medicine moves forward at a faster and faster pace, we will continue to conduct that research just as we began it back in the black-and-white days of polio research: by connecting with the people who trust Carilion with their care.
Find out more about our research, the Carilion experts who lead it and opportunities to participate at CarilionClinic.org/research.
