Welcome to the PCRO website

The PCRO was established in 2002 to promote and facilitate clinical research in infants, children and adolescents. The emphasis of the PCRO at its inception was directed toward industry sponsored clinical trials and has since expanded its services to include many NIH clinical trials and investigator-initiated research projects. 

The PCRO is a service center within the Department of Pediatrics that provides comprehensive support to clinical trials for all investigators in Doernbecher Children's Hospital (DCH) and OHSU. In addition, it is expanding its support for clinical and epidemiological research to investigators in the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) in Portland. The PCRO also provides a platform to match different investigators with similar research interests who are interested in applying for multidisciplinary research grants. 

Services provided by the PCRO include completion of regulatory and financial documents for all new studies, submission for institutional review board approval, budget preparation, and follow up on contract issues. The PCRO works closely with sponsors to expedite the initiation and conduct of studies at DCH. Experienced study coordinators provide continuous coverage for studies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

The PCRO also provides statistical support, budget preparation and help with grant writing for investigators. Currently, there are more than 60 active clinical trials managed by the PCRO and this number is expected to markedly increase as the number of investigators using the PCRO for management of their clinical trials continually increases.

Recent accomplishments

• Coordinated more than 75 research protocols in FY'10
• Recruited experienced study coordinators to the PCRO staff
• Coordinating studies in stem cell transplantation in adults and children
• Maintained a number of disease and drug databases
  
• Increasing collaboration with adult investigators by conducting clinical trials involving children and young adults
• Increasing collaboration with the Clinical Trials Office (CTO) and GCRC (now CTRC)