Currently Enrolling Trials
ACTIV-6
The ACTIV-6 research study is testing several medications that are already approved for other diseases to see if they can help people with mild to moderate COVID-19 feel better faster and stay out of the hospital.If you are 30 years old or older, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 10 days and have […]
PREVENTABLE
PREVENTABLE is one of the largest research studies in older adults. The purpose is to learn if taking a statin could help older adults live well for longer by preventing dementia, disability, or heart disease. A statin is a commonly used drug to lower cholesterol. Are you a good fit for PREVENTABLE? Contact the study […]
HERO Together – Now Enrolling!
Vaccinated for COVID-19? If you work in health care and received a COVID-19 vaccine, please consider joining a new research study called HERO-TOGETHER. By joining HERO-TOGETHER, you can help the public understand how people do after vaccination. Join at heroesresearch.org/together !
About us
The STAR CRN, a member of PCORnet – the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, encompasses eight health systems servicing three main regions: 1) Vanderbilt University Medical Center(VUMC), 2) the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN), 3) Meharry Medical College (MMC), 4) Duke University Health System, 5) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 6) Wake Forest Baptist Health, 7) Health Sciences of South Carolina, and 8) Mayo Clinic, headquartered in Minnesota. With data on over 14 million patients, the STAR CRN network consists of academic health centers, community hospitals and a range of outpatient practices including primary care, specialty practices and safety net facilities that serve diverse populations. Through this network, we have access to a broad array of clinical data, informatics tools, patients, providers, and systems to address an array of research questions. The objective of our CRN is to robustly support comparative effectiveness studies, pragmatic clinical trials, health system innovation, and the other research needs of our stakeholders and partners. Our network is particularly focused on research to improve health in the southern United States which has the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and other conditions, as well as significant disparities in health status and health care delivery.
The STAR Stakeholder Engagement Team ( SET) Leads implementation of the people-centered engagement plan; identify and engages a variety of stakeholders (patients, caregivers, clinicians). This group is comprised of members faculty and staff managing stakeholder engagement at CRN-level, site stakeholder engagement reps (i.e., staff or faculty) and designated patient representatives across the institutions in STAR-CRN . They closely collaborate with Stakeholder Advisory Council members and serve to facilitate implementation of stakeholder engagement.
The STAR Stakeholder Advisory Council (SAC), consists of patients, community members, and clinicians who help prioritize research opportunities and review all incoming studies to ascertain engagement of patients. Input from stakeholders is used to inform the research design, implementation, analysis, dissemination and/or priority setting. The SAC review of research products entails a quantitative, objective and validated measure of the Person Centeredness of Research ( PCoR) score. This measurement tool is the first of its kind and available to other Networks within STAR for measuring.
Our services
Pragmatic Research
Our sites can lead or participate in pragmatic clinical trials, observational research, and real world evidence research.
Stakeholder
Stakeholders ranging from physicians to patients to community members assist throughout the life of the project .
Data
All of our sites store data in a Common Data Model (CDM) to streamline data use. Linkage to other data sources enhance the model.
What else we provide
National Coverage
From Arizona to Florida, our data covers a wide range of populations.
Novel Tools for Data Analysis
The Common Data Model provides investigators the power of being able to compare apples to apples across multiple sites.
Streamlined Regulatory Processes
SMART IRB, Data Use Agreements, and Contract Shares are available to aid in the regulatory process.
The Leadership team
Testimonials
The infrastructure provided by the STAR CRN supported multiple aspects of my research. We were able to obtain feasibility counts, including proportions of underrepresented groups, and to connect with diverse clinics from a wide geographical area who were all interested in research. Throughout our trial, the STAR CRN infrastructure will enable us to leverage health record data for recruitment, data collection, and retention. This will support our ability to engage more underrepresented groups in research to advance equity and learning.
Vanderbilt’s success in enrolling patients in the ADAPTABLE trial has been a true team effort. Our success has only been possible because of the invaluable research infrastructure that has been built, maintained, and continually improved here in the STAR CRN. We have shown the country what is possible when multi-disciplinary experts collaborate to identify, contact, and enroll patients in pragmatic clinical research.
My twenty-eight years of working on a local and national level of health advocacy have allowed me to participate in the work of program design and implementation, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, health literacy, policy development, and community and patient engagement. I have had the opportunity to work with the PCORI foundational leadership and the PCORnet team from its inception some ten years or more. I have worked as a community co-investigator and patient partner with the STAR CRN. My work is rewarding to me personally and beneficial in the ways I serve my community. It is with great pleasure and delight that I offer my support and endorsement of the work of the STAR-CRN.
Examples of Our Published work
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT US? CURIOUS ABOUT HOW IT ALL WORKS?
Latest news
ADAPTABLE Study Lauded As Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement
ADAPTABLE, the first demonstration project of PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, has been named by the Clinical Research Forum as a Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awardee for 2022. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements and major advances in clinical research from across the U.S. Honorees were selected by a panel that considered clinical research studies […]
STAR Clinical Research Network to Receive Major Grant Renewal
The STAR Clinical Research Network, based at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been approved for an additional $8.9 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to support its efforts to improve health care throughout the Southeast and across the United States. The funding will be provided over three years as part of […]
ACTIV-6 Trial in the News
Recently, ACTIV-6, a study many PCORnet sites are participating in has been featured in the news. From the CBS news Nashville affiliate: “The warnings are clear and coming from trusted medical agencies: If you get COVID-19, don’t take a drug traditionally used to treat parasitic infections. Researchers are finding legal and safe way to get […]
“Leveraging PCORnet® to Respond to Emerging Concerns during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Recently PCORnet released a PDF summarizing the network’s response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Download the PDF below to read about the different ways in which PCORnet rapidly responded to this unprecedented public health crisis. From quickly launching the HERO Registry and Trial, to working with groups such as the FDA, CDC, and NIH, leveraging […]
ACTIV-6
The ACTIV-6 research study is testing several medications that are already approved for other diseases to see if they can help people with mild to moderate COVID-19 feel better faster and stay out of the hospital.If you are 30 years old or older, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 10 days and have […]
PREVENTABLE
PREVENTABLE is one of the largest research studies in older adults. The purpose is to learn if taking a statin could help older adults live well for longer by preventing dementia, disability, or heart disease. A statin is a commonly used drug to lower cholesterol. Are you a good fit for PREVENTABLE? Contact the study […]
When publishing or presenting work created from STAR CRN data or resources, we require the use of the following citation:
For the time period before 6.30.2019: “The STAR CRN, formerly Mid-South CDRN was initiated and funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) through the contract CDRN-1306-04869 , the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research with grant support from (UL1TR002243 from NCATS/NIH), and institutional funding.”
For the time period 12.1.2018-12.31.2019: “The STAR CRN was initiated and funded by People-Centered Research Foundation (PCRF) through the contract PCRF RFA 2017-12-05, the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research with grant support from (UL1TR002243 from NCATS/NIH), and institutional funding.”
For the time period 1.1.20 and going forward: “The STAR CRN was initiated and funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) through the contract RI-CRN-2020-009, the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research with grant support from (UL1TR002243 from NCATS/NIH), and institutional funding.”