Cambridge Clinical Research Facility
This Facility has been in operation since 2001 and is thriving with round-the-clock operation six days a week. Research is undertaken by both university and NHS investigators and overseen by a Scientific Advisory Board, with 181 projects being undertaken to date and 92 ongoing.
What kind of work is conducted there?
The CRF is the locus for experimental medicine, clinical trials and epidemiological research. Metabolic research and neuroscience are key themes. A new MRI scanner and nutrition and appetite laboratory will aid research into genetic disorders and obesity.
Success stories
- Brain injury and awareness (September 2006)
- Brain pathways in ADHD and depression (February 2006)
- Leptin, appetite and puberty (September 1999)
What facilities are on offer?
The unit has inpatient and outpatient rooms and is linked to an adjacent daycase ward with a dedicated research endoscopy suite.
Ultrasound, echocardiographic and exercise testing facilities are available together with a soundproof room for audiological studies.
The facility has access to cutting edge technologies for the measurement of body composition (DEXA, quantitative MR) and energy expenditure (chamber calorimetry). These will soon be augmented with a nutrition/dietetic resource, appetite laboratory and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
There are functional brain imaging (fMRI, PET) facilities in the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre. A microarray core facility has been established in partnership with the department of Clinical Biochemistry. The CRF has links with an adjacent GlaxoSmithKline unit for Clinical Experimental Medicine.
The CRF also trains young investigators and allied health professionals in clinical research methodologies.
Contacts
Academic contacts
Professor VKK Chatterjee, Director
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tdw30@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Caroline Saunders, Clinical Manager
T 01223 596055
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CRF-Reception@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Media contact
Caroline Saunders, Clinical Manager
T 01223 596055
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gl250@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Contact for members of the public who want to participate
Caroline Saunders, Clinical Manager
T 01223 596055
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crf-volunteer@medschl.cam.ac.uk