Advancing Science for the Common Good

Saving lives and improving health are at the heart of ever-expanding UC Irvine clinical trials

Dr. Daniela Bota, UC Irvine professor of neurology and vice dean for clinical research, knows that medicine has progressed exponentially on many fronts in just the past decade. Despite these significant advancements, she remains focused on what’s left to do: “We still have a plethora of disorders for which we don’t have a good treatment or any way to cure them. Just considering the burden of cancer and neurological disorders, the need for better treatment is staggering.”

Enter clinical research. These studies help determine if a new treatment is safe and effective and better than an existing standard of care. The trials can include behavioral interventions, devices, drugs or surgical procedures. Another form of research – observational studies – gathers information about participants over time. These may not introduce an intervention but could still help researchers identify treatments or prevention strategies to test later in trials.

In recent years, UC Irvine has expanded clinical research to bring groundbreaking healthcare and discovery to Orange County.

“We’ve been growing our trials at UCI by leaps and bounds,” says Shauna Stark, director of research operations at the School of Medicine. “Over the last five years or so, we’ve brought more manpower to trials than we’ve ever had before. We’ve also increased efficiency and knowledge by bringing trials together more centrally. And we’ve been growing our faculty, especially in the School of Medicine.”

She adds: “We’re promoting a culture of research – which makes sense because the research piece is what’s special about an academic institution.”

Indeed, UC Irvine is committed to fostering “bench to bedside” science, taking scientific discoveries in the lab all the way to trials and, hopefully, to patients.

Read the full story in UC Irvine Magazine.