For researchers

The office of research has streamlined processes to get your study up and running quickly, and keep you informed along every step from start to completion. Specifically, we offer the following:

• Arrangement of visits with potential partners
• Assistance in identifying funding opportunities for your research
• Assistance with study oversight, protocol and financial management of your research
• Assistance with writing a protocol, or protocol templates for a retrospective or prospective study
• Connection with potential academic and industry collaborators
• Investigator-initiated research questions
• Internal review board (IRB) start-up questions

Go to our research support page to learn more.

St. David’s HealthCare is a nationally recognized leader in clinical and translational research in a number of clinical areas. You can explore this section to learn more about the exciting discoveries and ground-breaking innovations happening at St. David’s. Our research topics include:

• Cardiovascular health
• Infectious disease
• Neuroscience
• Oncology
• Rehabilitation
• Spine and orthopedics
• Surgery
• Women's health and children

We join together big ideas, innovative physician clinical practice and research expertise to form strategic partnerships across multiple service lines.

Academic

We understand that translation of research to the bedside is often an arduous process that requires collaboration of like-minded professionals who are passionate about providing excellent care, while examining the frontiers of medicine, all to improve people’s lives.

National and international partnerships

Collaborations are key to addressing the global health challenges facing our society. St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research understands that and thus collaborates, through its leading researchers, with major medical centers and universities both nationally and internationally. Together, we address critical healthcare issues through research. In particular, the Office of Research has established strong ties through our physicians in multiple areas of research.

Medical disciplines research expertise

Each day, our expert pre-eminent physicians and research scientists solve many problems facing people of all ages with diverse medical conditions. Our research is often interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary. Our researchers are often the partner of choice for solving complex medical challenges using the most advanced technologies that represent all of the major medical disciplines:

• Emergency services
• Heart and vascular
• Neurosciences
• Orthopedics
• Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Rehabilitation
• Surgery and robotics
• Women’s health and neonatal intensive care

Whether it's an opportunity to explore a partnership through a new device, drug, or therapeutic, or to pilot, co-develop, or be a clinical trial site collaborator, St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research seeks to help all parties involved benefit through our collaboration.

We welcome collaboration and offer many different available opportunities.

Co-write research grants

Academic collaboration with you as a principal investigator (PI) and the support of our physician-led research is vital to new discoveries and pilot studies co-led by physicians at St. David’s HealthCare who conduct research through the office of research. For more information about co-writing a grant with a physician champion to help with your research, contact us.

Co-develop a research innovation

In some cases, an academic collaborator seeks a physician to serve in an advisory capacity or help further co-develop an existing prototype to the next generation or something completely novel and groundbreaking. Our physicians may be able to help you take your intellectual property (IP) and look at co-ownership of a new IP, among other scenarios, to advance toward a pre-clinical study or clinical trial. To explore, contact us.

Principal investigator/co-principal investigator on a study

Our physicians are adept in single- and multi-site pilot translational research studies, preclinical studies, and clinical trials with the support of the St. David’s HealthCare office of research. We welcome the opportunity to explore with you possible study designs, timelines and funding mechanisms to help further research that can improve healthcare and outcomes around our major medical research disciplines. To explore how we can help, contact us.

St. David’s HealthCare office of research can connect you with physicians, build alliances for research and facilitate co-development and innovation.

Master research agreements

Some hospitals and hospital systems require individual agreements for each research project conducted with a company or academic institution. St. David’s HealthCare office of research has found an easier way. Under the umbrella of a Master Research Agreement (MRA), multiple projects can be permitted under one agreement. This makes obtaining permission faster and easy to work through so that you can get on with research and translation.

Inter-institutional affiliation agreements

Often, a physician champion begins a collaboration with another researcher at a major medical center and university. The Inter-Institutional Affiliation (IIA) agreement extends beyond investigator-initiated collaborations to allowing for open communication between researchers at the two institutions and can include cross-training of fellows, postdoctoral students, and residents on any of the two institutions’ campuses and across different research groups and disciplines.

The IIA is usually for at least three to five years with provisions for joint publications, research, and leveraging each other’s resources to accelerate new medical technologies, such as a technology to detect aortic malformations in newborns using pulse oximetry.

Confidentiality & material transfer agreements

The office of research manages confidentiality disclosure agreements (CDA) and material transfer agreements (MTA) for biological specimens that can be used for research or collaboration with academic and industry collaborators.

Conflicts of interest

The office of research is available for consultation if questions arise regarding conflicts of interests or their management while conducting research. We will work to get the appropriate parties involved, as needed or required.

Intellectual property

The office of research works in conjunction with St. David’s HealthCare and its partner HCA, Nashville, on management and protection of hospital and joint intellectual property with other entities and individuals.

We offer a chance to explore partnerships that align and can support your research.

Sponsor investigator-led translational research

Industry support of our physician-led research is vital to new discoveries and pilot studies led by physicians who conduct research through the office of research. For more information about how to sponsor physician-led research, contact us.

Sponsor validation research

Our physicians are often in a position to help a company determine whether a technology is a ‘go' or 'no-go’ before investing significant funding into an unproven area. Physicians have the expertise to validate a prototype or proof-of-concept by conducting a technology validation or feasibility opinion. Since validation can take many forms, for details contact us.

Co-write research grants

Industry collaboration with you as a principal investigator (PI) and having support of our physician led research is vital to new discoveries and pilot studies co-led by physicians at St. David’s HealthCare, who conduct research through the office of research. For more information about co-writing a grant with a physician champion to help with your research, contact us.

Co-develop a research-based innovation

Often a company wants to have a physician serve in an advisory capacity or help the company further develop their already existing product to the next generation or create something completely novel and groundbreaking. Our physicians might be able to help you take your IP and look at co-ownership of a new IP, among other scenarios, to advance toward a clinical study or clinical trial. To explore, contact us.

Principal investigator/Co-principal investigator on a clinical study

Our physicians are adept in single and multi-site pilot studies, pre-clinical studies, and clinical trials with the support of the St. David’s HealthCare office of research. To explore how we can help, contact us.

Become an office of research collaborator/member

The office of research brings physician resources together to address challenges facing industry and healthcare. Our St. David’s HealthCare institutes and centers serve academia, industry, government agencies and non-profits through translational research, innovation and education. The office of research offers collaboration opportunities with industry to accelerate value-based technologies, procedures, and products from discovery through translation and into the providers’ hands to improve healthcare. The office of research assists in bringing physician champion leadership to your research to bear on the unmet needs. For information or help, contact our office.

Become an office of research partner

Given our collaboration heritage, the office of research provides unequalled access and proximity to researchers, physicians, faculty, industry collaborators and students. This provides our partners a competitive research, development and clinical trial advantage. Whether you need assistance with collaboration, space, resources, grant applications, clinical trials or connections, contact us.

Future endowment of translational research and innovation

Future endowment, partnership or consortia opportunities for physician research at St. David’s HealthCare through the office of research are ways to be a guardian of translational research that provides an enduring gift to support research, innovation and outstanding physician faculty. For details, contact us.

To explore additional ways to partner, which might involve collaboration opportunities around prototyping services, testing, professional development, recruitment of students, interns and graduates, engagement with startups, lecture series, lab equipment, etc., contact us.

Find out more information on how we protect your research and can offer support:

• Human research protections program
• Research support