The University of Delaware is a nationally classified research institution. Launched in 2021, the Center for Human Research Coordination (CHRC) is one of 17 core research facilities at UD, dedicated to supporting research occurring within each of the University’s colleges, research institutes and centers.
What we do
The Center for Human Research Coordination (CHRC) helps to recruit, screen and register research participants for studies underway across the University of Delaware. If you are a UD researcher seeking assistance or a member of the public interested in participating in a UD study, we are here to assist you.
Recruitment
CHRC helps guide faculty and their research teams with various tools to help facilitate recruitment for individual studies and disease/injury registries.
Study Coordination
We coordinate screening, scheduling, transportation and more for research participants via phone, email, text or in-person.
Data Management
CHRC helps develop data capture projects, and connect research teams with databases that use a secure repository that is 21 CFR Part 11, FISMA, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant.
Training
We provide education and training in the use of REDCap, a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. The software is free for any research project that UD is involved in.
Registries
CHRC helps support registries of human participants for researchers to draw from for screening or potential recruitment, allowing similar studies to focus on data collection and analysis.
Supporting research across UD
Collaboration across disciplines is a hallmark of research at UD and CHRC is leading the way. Utilizing the groundwork laid by Tom Buchanan and his team at the Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, CHRC is building upon their solid foundation resulting in 10,000+ research participants in their current database. More from the UD research community:
A Growing Need
According to Maria Palazuelos, director of research compliance, research with human subjects has been growing at UD, as evidenced by the volume, complexity and interdisciplinary nature of the submissions to the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). These projects have nearly tripled in the past decade, Palazuelos said, from about 800 submissions in 2011 to nearly 2,300 in 2021.
Benefits of the Center
Curtis Johnson, assistant professor of biomedical engineering (left), doesn’t need any convincing about the benefits of the new center. “Finding eligible participants is a lot of work, and that’s not our strongest suit, as engineers,” Johnson said. “They’ve handled all of the patient screening and scheduling. It’s not just time-saving; it’s the difference between being able to do the research or not. It’s been like night and day for us.”
People Helping People
As stroke survivor Chuck Dougherty knows, the ultimate goal of UD research studies involving people is to help people. So if more studies can be done, the benefits to the public are clear. With an ever-present smile, he said he “blames” his progress in stroke recovery on UD.
Leading the Way
The Center for Human Research Coordination (CHRC) is led by Director Karin Silbernagel, associate professor and associate chair of UD’s Department of Physical Therapy. The new center will help recruit, screen and register research participants for studies underway across the University. CHRC is staffed by experienced professionals dedicated to serving the needs of our users.
Contact Us
If you need further assistance or have a specific request, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you shortly.