IU Center for Bioethics

The Center's mission is to provide leadership to advance the academic and public understanding of bioethics, to inform the development of social and public policy in health, research, and related fields, and to provide support for the provision of ethics services at Indiana University hospitals. The Center fulfills this mission through research, education, and service as a university-wide entity.

The Indiana University Center for Bioethics Director is Eric M. Meslin, Ph.D. For more information, please visit their website, email at cntbioet@iupui.edu, or call (317) 278-4034.

IU Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research

The mission of the CHSOR is to foster research in accelerating the transformation of healthcare organizations and improving the organization, delivery and outcomes of healthcare. CHSOR is an IUPUI campus-wide center established in 2003 through funding from Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute, Inc., and the Roudebush VA Medical Center. The Center builds on the substantial experience and expertise of its faculty in assessing contextual, provider and patient factors important in implementing health care systems improvement. It also builds upon substantial expertise developing and testing innovative systems and patient-centered strategies and care models across settings (hospital, clinic and community). Brad Doebbeling, MD, MSc is the director.

The goals of the CHSOR are to: 1) organize health services, management and engineering researchers in Indiana into a cohesive research center for healthcare improvement research and development; 2) Provide infrastructure and synergies to lower the costs of health care systems transformation; 3) React quickly to provide high quality service and pursue extramural funding opportunities to improve health care in Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the Midwest; and 4) Create effective research partnerships with local and regional healthcare systems, healthcare organizations, government, other academic entities, and industry in Indiana. The Center is a national resource for learning about implementation of health information technology and process improvement methods, to accelerate and transform healthcare organizations and networks.

Given the multiple demands driving the increasing complexity and costs of medical care, healthcare systems face increasing pressures to use their own data effectively to drive improvement of healthcare processes and operations. The innovative use of HIT, when adequately integrated and implemented, can help provide effective care and support sound clinical and managerial decision-making. Two areas of special research focus include: 1) Identifying and sharing best practices for process improvement. We partner with managers to foster research in the design, implementation and assessment of projects accelerating transformation of healthcare organizations; 2) Implementation of health information technology (HIT). We utilize our expertise as users of information systems, focusing on the implementation of HIT to provide more effective healthcare.

Center Investigators plan, conduct and disseminate research findings in these areas. Faculty interests include health services research, patient safety, preventive services, chronic and mental illness, technology evaluation, organizational studies, process innovation, clinical epidemiology, survey research, clinical trials, biostatistics, behavioral science, medical sociology, patient-provider communication, self-management, recovery models, operations research, rehabilitation and informatics research. Center faculty have active extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health, the VA, CDC, Department of Defense, private foundations, local government and/or industry. Postdoctoral trainees participate through our VA informatics and health services research fellowships and the NIH K30 Clinician Investigator Training Enhancement program, directed by Kurt Kroenke, MD. Faculty of the IU CHSOR and Roudebush VAMC were recently designated a VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Excellence in Implementing Evidence-based Practice (CIEBP).

We have a long history of partnership with the Regenstrief Institute, a pre-eminent center for medical informatics, aging and health services research. Key affiliates include the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI), and Purdue University. Our key campus partners include the IUPUI Schools of Engineering and Technology, Nursing, Pharmacy Management, Science, and Health and Rehabilitation, as well as the IU Diabetes Prevention & Control Center and IU Cancer Center; and Purdue University’s Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and Management (RCHE).

Exceptional opportunities exist for cross-systems studies, due to partnerships we have developed with regional research and clinical centers. Opportunity for research in HIT implementation efforts nationally is available through the AHRQ Health Information Technology Resource Center, directed by Julie McGowan, PhD, in our Center. Research in implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for adults with severe mental illness in community settings is available through the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Center of Indiana, as part of the National Implementing Evidence Based Practices Project, directed by Michelle Salyers, PhD, in our Center. Research working groups provide unique opportunities for research in using HIT in patient safety across six health systems participating in the Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety. Cutting edge interdisciplinary research opportunities exist in healthcare process improvement and reengineering, in a novel partnership with engineering and management faculty from the Purdue University RCHE and IUPUI Purdue School of Engineering and Technology.

The IU CHSOR director is Bradley N. Doebbeling, MD, MSc, FACP. For more information, please visit the website or call (317) 988-1775

IU Diabetes Center

Clarian Diabetes Centers - IU, located within Indiana University Hospital, is one of Clarian Health’s American Diabetes Association recognized program sites. The IU and other Centers are staffed by certified diabetes educators who provide a full-spectrum of diabetes education, self-management training services and medical nutrition therapy in individual and class settings. The education team works collaboratively with the endocrinologists from the IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health to provide ongoing training of medicine residents and endocrinology fellows. The Diabetes Center staff also provides educational support for patients involved in clinical trials at the School of Medicine. The Clarian Diabetes Centers referral base includes specialty and primary care physicians who treat patients throughout the state of Indiana. The diabetes education team is well-versed in the most current research findings and treatment options for diabetes care.

The Clarian Diabetes Centers co-medical directors are Rattan Juneja, MD and Corbin Roudebush, MD. The program director is Pat Custer, MS, RD, CDE. For more information, please call: (317) 274-3500 or (317) 962-1748.

IU General Clinical Research Center

The Indiana University General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), located on the fifth floor of University Hospital, is funded by a competitive grant from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. The GCRC is the Indiana University School of Medicine's and Clarian Health's major resource for supporting faculty who have Public Health Service funding for patient research.

The General Clinical Research Center director is Munro Peacock, M.D. For more information, please visit their website or call (317) 274-4356.

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center

The IU Simon Cancer Center is a matrix cancer center that focuses the comprehensive range of cancer efforts and activities at the Indiana University School of Medicine. It brings together the talents, strengths and resources of a diverse group of individuals and organizations with a single focus: to reduce cancer incidence, suffering and mortality in Indiana and beyond. This alliance creates a powerful stimulus for better research, better education and better patient care.

The IU Simon Cancer Center has been designated a Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). It is the only NCI-designated Cancer Center in Indiana that provides clinical care. This designation places the IU Simon Cancer Center with an elite group of centers that focus on excellent clinical care and the rapid implementation of new discoveries into the treatment of cancer.

The IU Simon Cancer Center director is Stephen Williams, M.D. For more information, please visit their website or call (888) 600-4822 or (317) 278-0070.

Krannert Institute of Cardiology

Research at the Krannert Institute, which is recognized throughout the world, includes heart arrhythmias, abnormal electrical conduits and regeneration of heart muscle. Ultrasound as a diagnostic tool to detect heart disease and disorders was developed by Harvey Feigenbaum, M.D., distinguished professor of medicine. New procedures to treat abnormal heart rhythms, including cryotherapy, alcohol therapy and cardioverters were developed by Douglas P. Zipes, M.D. Loren Field, Ph.D., developed a mouse model in which heart muscle can regenerate.

The Krannert Institute of Cardiology director is Peng-Sheng Chen, M.D. For more information, please visit their website or call (800) 843-2786 or (317) 274-7853.

Midwest Sexually Transmitted Infections and Topical Microbicides Cooperative Research Center

Chlamydia, Herpes, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), gonorrhea, chancroid and HIV are under investigation in the Infectious Disease, Microbiology, and Adolescent Medicine Departments at IUSOM. Investigators are focused on developing and testing vaccines against HPV, a precursor of cervical cancer, and genital Herpes. Socio-psychological studies are underway with an emphasis on behavior and attitudes among sexually active teens. The Midwest Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Topical Microbicides (TM) Cooperative Research Center is a consortium agreement between Indiana University and Northwestern University. The Midwest Center was initially funded by the National Institutes of Health in 1991 and is currently funded through 2009. The overarching goal of the Midwest Center is to study the epidemiology, acquisition, prevention and pathogenesis of STIs in young women. Our goals are to examine: (1) the acquisition of STIs in a cohort of adolescent and young adult women and the developmental factors that are associated with their use and acceptance of topical vaginal microbicides; (2) how Herpes Simplex Virus gains access to human cells of the female genital tract, a prerequisite for the development of topical microbicides that block STI entry; (3) mechanisms underlying two sequelae of STIs, cervical cancer caused by Human Papilloma Virus and acquisition and transmission of HIV, caused by the genital ulcer disease chancroid.

The Midwest Center director is Stanley M. Spinola M.D. For more information, please call: (800) 274-4862 or (317) 274-1427

National Center of Excellence in Women's Health

The mission of the National CoE in Women's Health is to provide a coordinated, unified framework in which to administer state-of-the-art clinical care for women, teach health care providers and lay people about women's health issues, create new programs to deliver information about preventive medicine to women and their families throughout the State of Indiana, learn from women how to provide them with better and more user-friendly health care, develop a research agenda linking basic science with clinical care, and foster the development of careers of women in academic health centers.

The National Center of Excellence in Women's Health director is
Rose S. Fife, M.D. For more information, please visit their website or call: (317) 274-2754.

O'Brien Research Center for Advanced Renal Microscopic Analysis

In June 2002, the IU Division of Nephrology received NIH funding to establish a George M. O'Brien Center for Advanced Renal Microscopic Analysis at the Indiana Center for Biological Microscopy. The primary goal of this Center is to develop new optical methodologies for investigators in Nephrologic and Urologic Research. Approaches include intravital multiphoton microscopy, 3-dimensional imaging and quantitative microscopic analyses. An interdependent goal of this project is to assist NIH-funded and other investigators in implementing these new techniques for their specific research needs, either in their laboratories, or utilizing the facilities of the Center.

For more information, please contact Barbara Sturonas-Brown at (317) 278-7389

Regenstrief Institute

Regenstrief Institute, Inc., an internationally recognized informatics and healthcare research organization, is dedicated to the improvement of health through research that enhances the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.

Established in Indianapolis by philanthropist Sam Regenstrief in 1969 on the campus of the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Institute is supported by the Regenstrief Foundation and closely affiliated with the I.U. School of Medicine and the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana.

The Institute is led by Thomas S. Inui, ScM, MD. For more information, please visit their website or call (317) 630-7604.

VA Center of Excellence on Implementing Evidence-Based Practice

The VA HSR&D Center on Implementing Evidence-Based Practice (CIEBP) was designated a national VA HSR&D Center of Excellence in June 2004.

Our mission is to discover, implement and sustain the adoption of best practices, using health information technology (HIT), to improve healthcare delivery. Our goal is to enhance the VA’s organizations and networks capacity for data-driven decision making and to implement and sustain best practices. The Center is a national resource for VA managers, leaders and clinicians to learn about implementation of HIT and process reengineering methods, to accelerate and transform healthcare organizations and networks. The Center builds on the substantial expertise of its faculty in assessing contextual, provider and patient factors important in implementing health care systems improvement. It also builds upon substantial faculty expertise developing and testing innovative systems and patient-centered strategies and care models across settings (hospital, clinic and community).

Given the multiple demands driving the increasing complexity and costs of medical care, healthcare systems face increasing pressures to use their own data effectively to drive improvement of healthcare processes and operations. The innovative use of HIT, when adequately integrated and implemented, can help provide effective care and support sound clinical and managerial decision-making. Two areas of special research focus include: 1) Identifying and sharing best practices for process improvement. We partner with managers to foster research in the design, implementation and assessment of projects accelerating transformation of healthcare organizations; 2) Implementation of health information technology (HIT). We utilize our expertise as users of information systems, focusing on the implementation of HIT to provide more effective healthcare. Center Core and Affiliated Investigators plan, conduct and disseminate research findings in these areas. Postdoctoral trainees participate through our VA informatics and health services research fellowships and the NIH K30 Clinician Investigator Training Enhancement program.

Exceptional opportunities exist for cross-systems studies, due to partnerships we have developed with regional research and clinical centers. Opportunity for research in HIT implementation efforts nationally is available through the AHRQ Health Information Technology Resource Center, directed by Dr. Julie McGowan in our Center. Research in implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for adults with severe mental illness in community settings is available through the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Center of Indiana, as part of the National Implementing Evidence Based Practices Project, directed by Dr. Michelle Salyers in our Center. Research working groups provide unique opportunities for research in using HIT in patient safety across six health systems participating in the Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety. Cutting edge interdisciplinary research opportunities exist in healthcare process improvement and reengineering, in a novel partnership with engineering and management faculty from the Purdue University Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and Management (RCHE) and IUPUI Purdue School of Engineering and Technology.

Brad Doebbeling, MD, MSc is the Center’s founding director.