U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) http://www.niams.nih.gov/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 CONTACT: Karin L. Rudolph, 301-496-8190, rudolphk@xxxxxxxxxxxx News Advisory NIH HOLDS SCIENTIFIC MEETING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CLINICAL RESEARCH NETWORKS WHAT: NIH Roadmap Inventory and Evaluation of Clinical Research Networks (IECRN) National Leadership Forum This two-day scientific meeting will present findings from the NIH-sponsored Inventory and Evaluation of Clinical Research Networks (IECRN) and will address ways to improve the infrastructure of clinical research networks and make recommendations for increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. Attendees will have opportunities to provide input into findings and best practice models used by the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research in its ongoing discussion of re-engineering the clinical research enterprise. The target audience includes principal investigators, epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, clinical study coordinators, pharmacists, biostatisticians, clinicians, data managers, and bioinformatics and information technologists. SPEAKERS: Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. -- Director, National Institutes of Health Kelly Cronin -- Director, Office of Programs and Coordination, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services REGISTRATION AND WEBCAST: The forum is open to the public and registration is free. Due to room capacity, registration will be limited to the first 500 participants. The plenary sessions will be simultaneously webcast. WHEN: Wednesday, May 31: 8:00 a.m. -- 7:00 p.m. Thursday, June 1: 8:30 a.m. -- 3:00 p.m. WHERE: DoubleTree Rockville Hotel, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852 WHO: Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health WHY: The forum will provide a venue for attendees to critically review and discuss the IECRN survey and best practice assessments. Goals of the National Leadership Forum include: -- Engaging opinion leaders from the clinical research network community in building a common framework for discourse and dialogue on the NIH Roadmap initiative -- Supporting cross-network exchange in the clinical research network community -- Providing a springboard to ongoing dissemination of information and practice models to the clinical research network community. CONTACT: To register or for more information, visit the IECRN National Leadership Forum Web site at http://www.clinicalresearchnetworks.org/forum.asp The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is a series of far-reaching initiatives designed to transform the Nation's medical research capabilities and speed the movement of scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside. Additional information about the NIH Roadmap can be found at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. ## This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2006/niams-24.htm. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1.
