Maquella Chacon

Staff Writer

The ISU Department of Family Medicine is making strides in the world of medical research. With a residency medical clinic supporting new doctors and its Clinical Research Center, Family Medicine is caring for the community and advancing research on how doctors treat and medicate issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes and congestive heart failure.

The research center is responsible for investigating medical conditions, directing research, coordinating the studies with other universities, and applying for grants that fund the research at ISU, in addition to holding studies with local participants.

ISU works in conjunction with Duke University, University of Iowa and The University of Washington School of Medicine. The Clinical Research Center has also collaborated internally within the Department of Psychology at ISU with assistance from Maria Wong, a professor of experimental psychology.

Since 1995, the Department of Family Medicine has completed over 20 studies. Studies have ranged from 4 to 146 participants from this region. The studies have thousands of participants nationwide.

The ISU Clinical Research Center is a part of the Society of Clinical Research Associates, an association that regulates and guides the studies for coordinators all over the country.

In addition to bringing clinical trials to ISU and hosting sections of the studies locally, ISU research staff attends conferences and educational meetings for the selected studies all over the United States.

The ISU research staff has attended meetings in locations including Las Vegas, Nashville, Phoenix, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

“[The] meetings bring us into the environment of the study, setting the expectations for what we are doing,” said Loni Chacon, registered nurse and study coordinator.

Many opportunities are provided through the Clinical Research Center, and the staff is always learning about new medical advances and trends.

Participating in these conferences and seminars, which are highly attended by other universities, puts ISU on the forefront of medical advances and gathers attention to the university as a whole.

ISU’s Clinical Research Center is under the direction of Rex Force, PharmD. Other research staff includes Ron Solbrig, MD, John Holmes, PharmD and Loni Chacon, RN.

In addition to the research staff, ISU Department of Family Medicine includes a Quality Program, overseen by Kelli Christensen, MD and Kathleen Johnson, RN. The Quality Program uses a team-based approach to improve the standards of healthcare and research.

On April 3, research and quality faculty presented at the University of Washington Medical School’s web seminar, which was viewed by universities all over the country. The group presented on the topic of quality improvement.

Quality improvement measures and studies continuous actions that lead to improvement in health care. Behaviors and activities of research or medical staff are analyzed for this purpose.

The ISU Clinical Research staff is currently enrolling participants for a study called TACT2, a randomized study observing cardiac events in patients that are diabetic that have previously had heart conditions or experienced cardiac arrest. Researchers plan to study participants over 50 years old using chelation therapy.

In addition to TACT2, they are hosting a study called PhotoVoice for participants over the age of 18 who take 3 or more medications daily. Patients are asked to take photographs of barriers and solutions they have experienced in taking their medications appropriately.

If you are interested in participating in a clinical research study, contact The Department of Family Medicine at 208-282-4176.