The records of the General Clinical Research Center consist of both administrative files and records of clinical experiments. They include reports, correspondence, grant files, committee records and other administrative files and records research protocols and supporting documents for individual research projects.
The University Hospitals have a long tradition of supplying research beds for detailed patient studies. In accordance with this tradition, in 1959, when renovations of University Hospital vacated a large amount of space on the ground floor, a faculty committee recommended that the space be used for research beds. In June 1959 the United States Congress recommended to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it fund the establishment of research bed facilities in academic institutions throughout the country. This combination of faculty recommendation and Congressional will led to the establishment of a NIH-funded, Clinical Research Center at University Hospital in May 1962.
Equipped with 16 inpatient beds and 8 outpatient beds, the Center represents an unusually stable environment where a specially trained nursing and dietetic staff, supported by dedicated laboratory facilities, can obtain precise control of clinical procedures and carefully observed patient reaction. To make use of the facility, a researcher must submit a written protocol explaining the nature of the experiment, its specific methodology and the likely results. The Center's Operating Subcommittee meets regularly to consider the protocols, as well as establish priorities and oversee the Center's daily operations. Overall responsibility for the Center's activities resides with the Policy Committee.
Subsequent grants from the NIH have allowed the Center to continue in operation for over thirty years. Copies of protocols are sent to NIH as part of the competing renewal grant report to NIH each year. The Center must submit a non-competing grant report to NIH each year. In 1992 the name of the Center was changed to General Clinical Research Center.
During 1999, over 150 individual adult and pediatric research studies were active at the Center, involving collaborations between over 400 investigators resulting in a total of 1828 GCRC-funded and 153 industry-sponsored inpatient days, and 3134 GCRC-funded outpatient visits. Some areas of research included: Alzheimer's, AIDS, cancer, depression, dermatology, diabetes, epilepsy, gene therapy, growth disorders, heart disease, hypertension, intestinal hormones, kidney disease, menopause, and obesity.
Directors of the General Clinical Research Center
| Date |
Event |
| 1962-1977 | Arthur B. French |
| 1977 | Irving H. Fox (Acting) |
| 1978-1990 | Irving H. Fox |
| 1990-2001 | William D. Ensminger |
| 2001- | John Wiley |
Name Changes
| Date |
Event |
| 1962-1992 | Clinical Research Center |
| 1992- | General Clinical Research Center |
