Helping to Build Tomorrow's Standard of Care
The Clinical Research Unit (CRU) is a 20,000 square foot area located in General Hospital 2 Boyd Tower at the University of Iowa Healthcare main campus. The CRU offers the physical space and experienced interdisciplinary support staff to conduct and complete clinical research at the University of Iowa. The CRU supports high quality human subjects research and research processes that are integrated with UI’s clinical and translational research agenda. We also offer our research support to Investigators throughout Iowa.
The CRU, supported by the Carver College of Medicine and Early Phase Trials Unit, assists with numerous Phase I-IV clinical research studies. The CRU offers comprehensive services including Nursing, Laboratory, Pulmonary, and Bionutrition services. Additionally, the CRU provides mobile nursing services to assist clinical research studies conducted on inpatient units or outpatient clinics within the hospital. Investigators are encouraged to utilize the full range of support services offered by the CRU.
Contact Information
Front Desk & Scheduling Questions - 61060
Nurse's Station - 61061
Lab - 47395
Bionutrition - 48317
Pulmonary Physiology Lab - 49971
CRU Staff
Director, Clinical Research Support
Alejandro Comellas, MD
Director of the ICTS Clinical Research Unit at the University of Iowa
Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, University of Iowa
Assistant Director, Clinical Research Unit
Jackline Mwangi Wangui, MSN, RN-BC
Email - jackline-wangui-verry@uiowa.edu
Staff Nurses
Holly Clubb, BSN, RN, CPN
Renee Madden, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Wendy Sauter, BS, BSN, RN
Missy Dean, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Kara Yoder, MSN, RN, RN-BC
Charlie Terzano Borovic, BSN, RN
Ashley Pieper, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Krista Crump, RN, ONC
Page Scovel, BSN, RN, CCRC
Jane Weber, BSN, RN
Marina Reynolds, BSN, RN, OCN
Nursing Assistant
Jackie Ortiz, NA
Health Science Student
Kesten Anderson
Unit Clerk
Katrina Norton, RMA
Laboratory
Jesse Espinoza, BS, Research Assistant
Rakshya Regmi, MS, Research Assistant
Bionutrition
Gregory Peak
Pulmonary Physiology Lab
Justin Kuhn, BS RRT-ACCS/NPS
Vascular Imaging
Jenny Michelson, Research Specialist
Available Services
The following CRU services are available. Please visit I-CART (https://i-cart.icts.uiowa.edu) to request and learn more about our services.
Available services:
- Nursing Services
- Laboratory Services
- Bionutrition Lab
- Pulmonary Physiology Lab
- Vascular Imaging
- Consultations
Available procedures:
- Acquiring ECGs
- Anthropometry
- Body composition analysis
- Complex medication administration and monitoring
- Complicated pharmacokinetic sampling
- Exercise stress testing
- Insulin clamp studies
- Oral glucose tolerance tests
- Patient education
- Pulmonary function testing
- Resting energy expenditure
- Storage, packaging, and shipping of specimens from IATA certified lab
- Vaccinations
- Venipuncture: phlebotomy, intravenous catheters, port access
- Much more...
CRU staff are not confined to this list of procedures and are continually learning and extending their abilities to meet investigators' needs. If you don't see what you need on this list, please contact us to learn how we can help you.
Resources
| Physical Space Available | Equipment |
| 14 outpatient exam rooms | Vital signs machine with pulse oximetry |
| 5 consult rooms | Alaris infusion pumps |
| 3 procedure rooms | Portable ECG machine |
| Infusion bay (5 chairs, 2 beds) | Electronic wheelchair scale |
| W218 - Physical Therapy Table | Electronic standing scale |
| Vein View - near-infrared vein visualization system | |
| Additional support space | -80 freezers |
| Biospecimen Processing Lab | Variable speed and temperature centrifuges |
| Bionutrition | Bod Pod |
| Body Composition Lab | Pulmonary Function System with Whole Body Plethsysmograph |
| Cardio-Pulmonary Physiology Lab | Metabolic car/Cardiopulmonary Exercise gas exchange system |
| Cardio-Vascular Physiology Lab | Upright and recumbent bicycle ergometers |
| Bone Density Lab | Treadmill |
| Functional Vascular Imaging Lab | High output ultrasonic nebulizer |
| Pediatric and Adult phlebotomy rooms | Nitric Oxide analyzer for FeNO and nasal NO testing |
| 2 Negative Pressure Exam Rooms (13 & 14) | Bio-Safety Cabinet |
| Bod Pod - Body Composition Tracking System |
EPIC Scheduling
When booking an appointment or other resources with the CRU, please complete the request through the CRU EPIC Schedule. This system replaced the old web-based Calpendo system of requesting a visit for research subjects in the CRU.
Support
Document - Snap Board Scheduling Document link
Video - Clinical Research Clinic Snapboard Scheduling link
Video - Clinical Research Clinic Advanced Scheduling - Joint Appointments link
EPIC Order Set Building
To request EPIC order set building, please follow the instructions below:
If you have questions about Epic Scheduling or would like to learn more, please contact Katrina Norton
Phone: 319-356-1060
Email:katrina-norton@uiowa.edu