2009 DOM Annual Report - Department of Medicine - University of ...

2007The Center for Clinical Pharmacology (CCP) is made up of a smallgroup of faculty, and the purpose of the group is pre-clinical andclinical translational research in the areas of drug developmentand the evaluation of pharmacotherapy and clinical pharmacologyeducation for both undergraduate and medical students. Futureopportunities for the Division of Clinical Pharmacology includeexpansion of the application of cutting-edge core laboratories inpharmacogenetics and metabolomics and expansion of informationtechnology and support of clinical research through the ClinicalInvestigation Core (CIC) to clinical translational researchers in theDepartment of Medicine (DOM).CLINICAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCHThe newly-renovated UPMC Montefiore (MUH) Clinical TranslationalResearch Center (CTRC) remains fully funded ($2.2 million/year) aspart of a larger Clinical Translational Sciences Institute(CTSI) networkof facilities ($16 million/year) by the National Center for ResearchResources (NCRR). It serves approximately 1,000 inpatient days and6,000 outpatient days of clinical translational science research peryear, mostly requiring extended, intensive research care. Areas ofexcellence include diabetes, bone metabolism, clinical pharmacology,oncology, rheumatology and pulmonary disease.TEACHINGClinical Pharmacology teaching is extensive. It includes theElective in Clinical Pharmacology (intensive one month coursefor fourth year medical students), which focuses on the principlesof clinical pharmacology, rational drug prescribing, evidencebasedpharmacotherapy for multiple topics in medicine, extensiveinvolvement in the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP)and experimental clinical research training at all levels. Otherteaching activities include lectures to second and first year medicalstudents, post graduate training for MDs, PhDs and PharmDs andthe introduction of 24 10th grade high school students to conceptsinvolved in clinical trials.Pharmacovigilence (Pv) Program and Information Technology/Biostatistics Core continues to be successful. The goal is to use andintegrate resources to improve the overall efficiency of drug use inhealthcare institutions so as to enhance efficacy, safety and cost, witha focus on drugs made newly available in the healthcare market. Thisclinical area provides clinical, outcome-based information technologyfor decision analysis of clinical drug use and provides IT support to labbased,clinical research collaborative projects and grants.“Areas of excellence include diabetes, bonemetabolism, clinical pharmacology, oncology,rheumatology and pulmonary disease.”PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL TRANSLATIONALRESEARCHThis research area includes molecular and cellular pre-clinicalpharmacology, organ/tissue pre-clinical pharmacology, and wholeanimal pre-clinical pharmacology. Clinical Translational ResearchCenters related to the Pharmacogenomics program serve investigatorsin Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants, inlung cancer, as well as in head and neck cancer, where it providesstrong research on pathways of DNA repair, drug transporters, andmediators of inflammation. Clinical Pharmacology conducts studieson the regulation of drug metabolizing enzymes in discrete projectsthat include drug interactions in young subjects, the influence of age(>70 yr), morbid obesity, chronic liver disease, hepatocellular cancer,bladder cancer and as part of a national network that studies theeffect of pregnancy on drug disposition.QUALITYClinical Pharmacology makes a major contribution to the quality ofdrug prescribing through the Pv technology described in Clinical andClinical Research Activities. This extends from UPMC PresbyterianShadyside to all UPMC-related facilities via the activities of the SystemwidePharmacy and Theraputics (P&T) Hospital Committee.15