RSO VITAL STATISTICS AND FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT.  At the end of 2001, the RSO was participating in 74 active studies (28 involve complete services -- start-up plus research coordinator services); an additional 10 studies were in the final stages of approval. These projects have an estimated contract value of $ 8.1 million. Twenty-nine clinical trials were completed in 2001. In comparison, at the end of 2000 the RSO was involved in 73 active studies, and the number of projects for which the RSO was providing full services was 20.
    In 2001, the RSO worked with more than 53 different faculty members on their research projects. These faculty belong to 12 different departments in the medical school, and to the dental school and college of pharmacy. The disciplines represented include rheumatology (adult and pediatric), endocrinology, pulmonary (adult and pediatric), hematology/oncology (adult and pediatric), gastroenterology (adult and pediatric), infectious diseases (adult and pediatric), cardiology, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, urologic surgery, anesthesiology, psychiatry, dermatology, surgery, orthopedic surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and laboratory medicine and pathology.
    If you would like a copy of the RSO Annual Report, please contact us at rso@tc.umn.edu and request either an electronic or print version.
 

PLEASE PERMIT US TO BRAG A LITTLE ABOUT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.  These comments were sent either spontaneously or in response to the RSO’s annual staff performance review, an activity that is used to provide feedback to the RSO as an organization and to individual staff members. Some of the feedback the RSO received last year from faculty included the following endorsements:

“The RSO is extraordinarily helpful. There’s an enormous amount of paperwork to move any clinical protocol forward. The RSO knows the administrative hoops and can accomplish in a few weeks what would otherwise take months…..The RSO eliminates the administrative burden to get a new study up and running.”

“Without the RSO, we might not have had the trial ready to go before closing. With their assistance we were able to enroll a remarkable number [of subjects].”

“[name of RPM] is excellent to work with. She is very knowledgeable and professional, She follows through with issues and maintains a high level of quality work. Not only does she insure her piece of the project is done well, she reminds everyone, including me [the PI] to stay on task. I appreciate that a lot.”

“The consent form written for our study was awesome. I have shared it with my colleagues and will be using it as a template for our future studies.“

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You don’t know how much I respect and appreciate your accountability and dependability! You are a treasure—truly!”

“Your group gets the award for the best written informed consent. Our regulatory area had several suggestions on items to include, and yours has all of them in it.”

“Working with the RSO is refreshing and efficient. The RSO keeps things on track. There’s a much faster turnaround.”