FSU/TMH Research Collaboration

Dear Colleagues,

The FSU Office for Clinical Research Advancement (OCRA) is working to facilitate more research opportunities for faculty with our community clinical partners. FSU has more than 2,900 active human subjects studies. As we move toward reopening more research activities, OCRA is available to assist you in finding community collaborators, including individuals at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH).

TMH has been a valued partner with FSU over the years in advancing medical education and residency programs, as well as fostering research collaborations in disciplines including medicine, nursing, human sciences, engineering and art & music therapy. Although addressing the regulatory and logistical details of community-based research has been challenging at times, both institutions see the promising potential to grow clinical research by building a mutually supportive infrastructure for investigators.

To that end, TMH has requested that all FSU researchers who wish to collaborate with TMH – either with a clinician or as a study site – direct your request to OCRA first. OCRA is partnering with the TMH Office of Research to facilitate FSU/TMH research collaborations.  As you begin to contemplate a study that will potentially involve TMH you will need to contact OCRA at ocra@fsu.edu.  They will assist you in the process moving forward and will allow for greater efficiency as both organizations strive to meet the needs of the research community.

To further foster the FSU/TMH research collaboration, TMH CEO Mark O’Bryant and I have agreed to jointly support the hiring of two positions, a senior leader in clinical research at FSU and a clinical research coordinator at TMH. The senior leadership position will facilitate research scholarship and extramural funding opportunities for both institutions and work collaboratively with FSU and TMH research faculty, clinicians, residents and students to advance clinical research and trials. The coordinator position will provide study support and consultation for FSU/TMH studies. As research expands at FSU post-COVID, our desire is to fill these positions as quickly as possible.  

As part of the FSU Office of Research, OCRA serves as a central coordinating and support resource for human subjects research, from observational studies to clinical research and clinical trials.  It is a strategic partner to help advance interdisciplinary clinical and translational research for FSU. OCRA’s website is at ocra.fsu.edu.  I encourage you to contact the office for assistance at any point in your research endeavors, whether or not they involve TMH.