Background
The Utah Health Research Network, originally established as the UUHSC/CPG Research Committee, was formed in 2001, and has been meeting monthly since April 2001. The UHRN was formed to promote collaboration between the UUHSC and the Community Physician Group for the development of clinical research within the Community Clinics. The Department of Family Medicine (DFPM) provided the initial financial resources to support this effort, and have received substantial support from Vice-President Betz.
Over the course of 4 years the Utah Health Research Network has evaluated 37 research proposals. There are 5 NIH funded studies currently underway in the Community Clinics, representing approximately $3 million in direct expenses, as of September 2005. In addition, the committee has: 1) established a process for approving research projects in the Community Clinics, 2) produced an expedited IRB approval form for Quality Improvement Projects, and 3) improved researcher access to EPIC datasets.
The multidisciplinary composition of the Utah Health Research Network has largely contributed to our success. The Committee includes representatives from the UUHSC, the Community Physician Group, College of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, and more recently, the College of Health. Jay Graves, Ph.D. is very excited to join us and promote collaboration between the College of Health and the Community Clinics.
The next phase of the Utah Health Research Network is to target appropriate research areas, and to conduct externally funded research in these areas in the Community Clinics. Our timeline, which is enclosed, is to submit two NIH grant proposals per year for the next three years (2006 * 2008), anticipating one NIH-funded grant in year 2, and up to three NIH-funded grants in year 3. In addition, we will continue to submit proposals to other funding agencies.
To this end, we have received continuing support from Vice-President Betz. We have also formed partnerships with Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Community Health Centers. In light of our new partnerships, we have decided to focus on developing a solid practice-based research network in Utah. To reflect this, the committee has been renamed the Utah Health Research Network.
