Investigator Request Form for CTSI Services

Our Clinical Trial Accelerator team is available to review and provide recommendations on study design, grant submissions, approaches to e-consent, and anything else related to clinical trials.

For researchers, the community engagement team helps develop studies that address the complex health questions community partners state are most concerning. We provide training, as well as funding for research development and partnered data collection. For community organizations, we assist with providing evidence-based research interventions and practices. We assist communities with getting the word out on health research awareness and education.

CTSI provides consultation for collecting data, managing data, and creating basic reports using the REDCap system. NOTE: You cannot request a REDCap account through this request form. If you need a REDCap account, you will need to request one here: https://www.ctsiredcap.pitt.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=injPIG. 

All non-exempt studies require a Data and Safety Monitoring Plan, however not all trials require a Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). The method and degree of monitoring should be commensurate with the risks, size and complexity of the trial. See DSMB Training Manual (housed at Tufts): https://dl.tufts.edu/pdfviewer/8s45qn218/tm70n6743 and UPitt IRB guidance: https://www.irb.pitt.edu/data-and-safety-monitoring-boardcommittee.

CTSI provides consultations regarding study design, statistical analyses, power and sample size calculations, and data collection for grant applications. Requests for grant application consultations must be made at least two months prior to the submission deadline to the University of Pittsburgh's Office of Research. To enhance the efficiency and productivity of services, it is suggested that researchers come to the initial meeting with their specific aims including relevant hypotheses and outcomes.

Human-centered design (HCD) is a creative approach to problem solving that puts people at the center of a design process. CTSI can assist investigators with incorporating HCD frameworks and methods into their research design to support intervention and medical product development and testing, community engagement, problem framing, and more. We can also discuss available HCD education and training options for investigators and staff conducting health-related research.

D&I (Dissemination & Implementation) consultation involves the identification of appropriate models, frameworks, and/or measures that focus on the context (provider-level, system-level, etc.) surrounding your project.

CTSI recruitment facilitators are available to meet with study teams to develop participant recruitment strategies, provide an overview of recruitment tools (including the Pitt+Me Registry), resources, and methods, and assist with using social media to promote research studies.

The Pitt+Me Discovery Biobank is a local personalized medicine research program designed to help Pitt and UPMC researchers discover how DNA affects health. Researchers can explore associations between DNA, medication response, and health outcomes by requesting our biobanked DNA for genomics research, or by enrolling their participants in our program for focused research interests. Learn more about leveraging Pitt+Me Discovery for your next research project here: https://ctsi.pitt.edu/research-services/core-services/pittplusme-discovery/

CTSI works directly with researchers to navigate all necessary regulatory pathways at any stage of their research.

CTSI supports the statistical analysis for clinical and translational research projects. Requests for consultations involving data analyses for abstracts or presentations must be made at least two months prior to the submission deadline. To enhance the efficiency and productivity of services, it is suggested that researchers come to the initial meeting with a clear statement of their hypotheses and primary outcome. For data analysis requests, please have the de-identified data and the data dictionary available.