Sutter Institute for Medical Research – Research center Profiles

About Us

Overview

The Sutter Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) Clinical Trials Program is uniquely positioned at the forefront of clinical trial research in one the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas, Northern California’s Sacramento Valley. SIMR’s Clinical Trials Program offers a community-based research model using multiple investigative sites throughout an ethnically and socio-economically diverse population base of over 2 million people. SIMR, an affiliate of Sutter Health, the leading integrated health care network in Northern California, established the Clinical Trials Program in 1991. It has now grown to include multiple Sutter Health sites throughout Northern California’s Central Valley and Foothill regions. With access to over 1,000 multi-specialty physicians, six tertiary care hospitals, and a wide variety of ancillary service centers, SIMR’s Clinical Trials Program manages clinical trials research efficiently through the use of Sutter Health’s comprehensive health care network.

Experience

With access to over 1,000 physician specialists and a 250,000-patient database, SIMR performs clinical trials in a wide range of therapeutic areas, including:

Cardiology
- Electrophysiology (Pacing)
- Medical (HTN, MI)
- Surgical (Stent, Cath, TMR, PTMR)
Endocrinology
- Diabetes Types I & II
- Pediatric Growth
- Osteoporosis
- Calcium Metabolism
- Foot Ulcer
- Blood Glucose Devices
Gastroenterology
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Opioid Induced Constipation
Infectious Disease
- Bacteremia
- Complicated Skin Infections
- Hepatitis B & C
- HIV / AIDS
- Pediatrics
- Sepsis
Neurology
- Autism
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Epilepsy / Peds & Adult
- Pain Management
- Dementia
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Pediatric
- Sleep Disorders
- Migraine and Cluster Headaches
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Oncology
- Peds & Adult
- All Disease Sites
- Infectious Diseases

Orthopaedics
- Joint Arthroplasty
Pediatrics
- Vaccine Trials
- Psychiatry
- Endocrinology
- Infectious Disease
- Gastroenterology
Psychiatry
- Bipolar Syndrome
- Depression
- Panic Disorder
- Sleep disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Pediatric
Pulmonary Medicine
- Bronchitis
- Asthma
- Allergy
- Pneumonia
Rheumatology
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Genital Warts
- Genital Herpes
Urology
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Prostate Disorders
- Male Fertility
Women’s Health
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- Birth Control
- Pre-term Labor

Clients/ Customers
SIMR serves clients who are leaders in the pharmaceutical, CRO and biotechnology industries. Our clients include:

3M
Abbot Laboratories
Advance Tissue Sciences
Algos
Amgen
Amylin
Angeion
Astra-Merck
Athena Neurosciences
Aventis
Bayer
Berlex
Boehringer Manheim / Ingelheim
Boston Healthcare
Boston Scientific
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Caremark
CCH Associates
Centecor
Cleveland Clinic
Clinical Research Consulting
Clinical Research Lab
Cordis
Covance
Curative Technologies
Cyberonics
Eisai
Eli Lilly
Eclipse Surgical Technologies
Endosonics
Facilitators of Applied Clinical Trials
Forest Laboratories Inc.
Fijisawa
Genentech
Gilead Sciences
Hoechst Marion Roussel
Innovex
Integrated Surgical Systems
Janssen
KCI

Kendle International
Kern McNeil International
Knoll
Lifescan
Marion Merill Dow
Matrix
Mayo Laboratories
Medtronics
Merck
Novartis
Ortho Biotech
Pacific Coast Research Associates
Paragon Biomedical
Parexel
Parke-Davis
Pfizer
Pharmacia and Upjohn
Pharmaco LSR
Phoenix International
Pharmaceutical Research Associates
Quintiles
Research Services Inc.
Roche
R.W. Johnson
Sandoz
SciCor
Scirex
Searle
Shaffer Pharmaceutical Consulting
SmithKline Beecham
Solvay
Syntex
Triangle Pharmaceuticals
University of Cal Davis
University of Cal San Diego
University of Cal San Francisco
Upjohn
Vivus
Ventritex
Wallace
Winthrop
Wyeth-Ayerst and Zeneca

Investigator

Davis/Woodland

Allergy
Ron Brown, M.D.
Family Practice
John Thomson, M.D.

Elk Grove

Allergy
Mark Grijnsztein, M.D.
Family Practice
Andrew Hudnut, M.D.
I-Mei Hsiu, M.D.
Francisco Prieto, M.D.
Dan Fields, M.D.
Craig Ruggles, M.D.
Podiatry
Dai Tunguyen, DPM. Jessi Tunguyen-Conner, DPM.
OB/GYN
Elizabeth Gonzalez, M.D.

Fairfield/Vacaville

Rheumatology
George Stock, M.D.
Urology
Edward Levin, M.D.
Mark Susskind, M.D.

Roseville/Auburn

Family Practice
Martin Neft, M.D.
Hatami, Shaian, PA-C
Neurology
Kristin Ashley, M.D.
Surgery
Michael Beneke, M.D.

Yuba City

Orthopedics
Garry Vallier, MD
Ophthalmology
Pranav Amin, MD
Pediatrics
Harry Wander, MD

Sacramento

Cardiology
Richard Axelrod, M.D.
John Chin, M.D.
Shah, Sailesh, M.D.
Zi Jian Xu, M.D.
David K. Roberts, M.D.
Endocrinology
Sallie Adams, M.D.
Ginger McMullen, M.D.
Family Practice
James B. Beckett, M.D.
Nate Hitzeman, M.D.
Gastroenterology
Abdul Khaleq, M.D.
Internal Medicine
David Norene, M.D.
Bary Siegel, M.D.
Jody Gordon, M.D.
Neurology
Richard Atkinson, M.D.
William J. Au, M.D.
Robert S. Burgerman, M.D.
Andrew Fox, M.D.
Shawn Kile, M.D.
Stephen Knox, M.D.
Pasquale Montesano, M.D.
George Picetti, M.D.
Adeep Sehkon, M.D.
Nicole Lopez-Seminario, M.D.
Gary Schneiderman, M.D.
Edie Zusman, M.D.
Oncology
Stacey D’Andre, M.D.
Lisa Guirguis, M.D.
Gregory Graves, M.D.
Orthopedics
William Bargar, M.D.
Thomas Blumenfeld, M.D.
Pediatric Cardiology
Richard Mainwaring, M.D.
Pediatric Endocrinology
Gnananagurudasan Prakasam, M.D.
Ulhas Nadgir, M.D.
Pediatric Infectious Disease
Rachel Weinreb, M.D.
Pediatric Neurology
Michael Chez, M.D.
Amer H. Khan, M.D.
Pediatric Oncology
Yung S. Yim, M.D.
Yisheng Lee, M.D.
Psychiatry
Robert Blanco, M.D.
Theodore Goodman, M.D.
Rheumatology
Carolyn Dennehey, M.D.
JaNahn Scalapino, M.D.
Surgery
Michael Beneke, M.D.

Staff

Kirsten Babski, BS, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
16 years experience in clinical research

Lori Pruski-Clark, BA, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
16 years experience in clinical research

Tammy Donnel, BS, MS, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
8 years experience in clinical research

Clara Dunn, BA, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
15 years experience in clinical research

Christina Dyer, BS, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
20 years experience in clinical research

Isabel Rodrigues-Fong, BS, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
15 years experience in clinical research

Michele Guillen, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
12 years experience in clinical research

Andrea Hankins, BS, MS, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
6 years experience in clinical research

Debbie Jacobs, RN, BSN, MSN
Clinical Research Coordinator
12 years experience in clinical research

Kimberly Marinovich, BA, CCRP
Clinical Research Coordinator
11 years experience in clinical research

Natalie Marlen, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
16 years experience in clinical research

Michele Pierini, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
17 years experience in clinical research

Nancy Reed, RN, MSN, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
16 years experience in clinical research

Lori Edwards, RN, MSN, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Professional
19 years experience in clinical research

Cammy Rieger, MPH, CCRP
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
12 years experience in clinical research

Janet Vulk, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
16 years experience in clinical research

Catherine Mann
Regulatory Technician
12 years experience in clinical research

Ida Manese
Regulatory Data Technician
3 years experience in clinical research

Laura Cox
Regulatory Data Technician
4 years experience in clinical research

Bobbie Benabides
Research Operations Specialist, Patient Recruitment Services
12 years experience in clinical research

Patients

SIMR’s Clinical Trials Program is uniquely positioned at the forefront of clinical trials research in one the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas, Northern California’s Sacramento Valley. It offers a community-based research model using multiple investigative sites throughout an ethnically and socio-economically diverse population base of over 2 million people.

Population (2005):

El Dorado County
176,841
Nevada County
93,394
Placer County
317,028
Sacramento County
1,363,482
Sutter County
88,876
Yolo County
184,932
Yuba County
67,153

Total Sacramento MSA
2.09 million in 2006

Median Household Income (2003):
$46,296

Ethnicity

White (non-Hispanic)
48.3%
Hispanic
21.6%
Black
15.5%
Asian or Pacific Islander
17.9%
American Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut
1.03%

Source: US Census Bureau, 2003, Sacramento California

Other

SUTTER HEALTH THROUGH THE YEARS
What began as a hospital for the community of Sacramento in 1923, Sutter Health over the last decade has affiliated with numerous hospitals and medical groups throughout Northern California, making it the seventh-largest not-for-profit health care network in the nation. Sutter Health now serves a population of more than three million people throughout Northern California including the Sacramento and San Francisco metropolitan areas. Sutter Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) was established in 1991 to provide support to clinical trials being conducted at the Sutter Medical Center. The Clinical Trials Program has now expanded to include multiple Sutter Health sites. SIMR now efficiently manages clinical trial’s research through the use of Sutter Health’s comprehensive health care network. With access to over 1,000 multi-specialty physicians and a database of more than 250,000 patients, SIMR has successfully managed over 300 clinical trials in a wide variety of medical disciplines.

AUTOMATION-DRIVEN PATIENT ACCURAL
Sutter Health has grown up with the computer age. SIMR’s Clinical Trials Program has access to Sutter Health’s wide-area computer network and connectivity system, one of the most advanced information technology operations in health care.. In addition, to the patient database, SIMR staff carefully tailor recruitment efforts to meet both protocol and patient needs utilizing media outreach, print and broadcast advertising, chart review and physician referrals. We have a call center/recruitment service, which has been effective in screening prospective participants for various research studies.

SIMR SERVICES FOR RESEARCH SPONSORS:
The idea is quality. At SIMR this philosophy is practiced at every level from management of regulatory documents to patient care. Our dedicated investigators and staff constantly strive to make the clinical trials program successful for both the patient and the sponsor. Our experienced staff carefully screens patients to ensure they are a good fit for the study. Strict adherence to protocol and careful record keeping minimize queries. Years of clinical experience ensures the highest quality of patient care. At SIMR we want to forge lasting relationships with sponsors. The number of sponsors who conduct multiple studies with the SIMR Clinical Trails Program demonstrates our success. SIMR’S Clinical Trials program dissolves the myth that quality takes longer.

SIMR Clinical Trials capabilities include:

Centralized study placement and management services.
On-site training and strict adherence to GCP.
1,000 physicians, multi-specialty managed care database.
Dedicated Patient Recruitment Services department including various effective recruitment efforts available for patient screening and enrollment.
Dedicated outpatient research and laboratory facilities.
Experienced investigators in a broad range of specialties.
ACRP and SOCRA certified coordinators.
Dedicated IRB with rapid regulatory document turn around.
Established internal marketing network for investigator and patient recruitment.
Clinical studies in Phases II, III, and IV.

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