HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long Term) is an NIH-funded initiative spanning almost all 26 institutes that are part of the NIH and put together to address the national opioid health crisis. Since 2019, the NIH has awarded over 375 grants, with investigators at the University of Utah's Data Coordinating Resource Center (DCRC) being awarded to support eight of these grants as part of the Pain Effectiveness Research Network (ERN). The network is conducting clinical trials to evaluate existing therapies and approaches for the prevention and management of pain avoiding opioid addiction.

The HEAL DCRC operates under a multiple PI model. Each of the following serve as Principal Investigators at the DCRC: Kevin M. Watt, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief of Clinical Pharmacology in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics (Contact PI), Jamie Dwyer, MD, Professor in the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Utah, Katherine Sward, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor at the University of Utah College of Nursing and Adjunct Professor in Biomedical Informatics, and J. Michael Dean, MD, MBA, Professor and Vice Chairman for research in the Department of Pediatrics. The DCRC's Program Director is Jeri Burr, MS, RN, PED-BC, CCRC, FACRP who works closely with Drs. Watt, Dwyer, Sward, and Dean.

The Utah Data Coordinating Resource Center is collaborating with each of the other 3 Resource Centers (RCs) for clinical trials funded through the HEAL Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network (ERN) initiatives. The RCs provide clinical and data coordination, biostatistical resources, and recruitment and retention, working cohesively together as one Coordinating Center:

• Duke University Clinical Research Institute serving as the Clinical Coordinating Resource Center (CCRC)
• Johns Hopkins Hospital serving as the Statistical & Safety Resource Center (SSRC)
• Vanderbilt University serving as the Recruitment Resource Center (RRC)

This combined RC infrastructure provides clinical trial scientific guidance, clinical and data coordination, biostatistical support, and unique recruitment and retention strategies. To learn more about the network and the funded trials, click here.