The purpose of the Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) is to provide an environment and resources to carry out research on the causes, treatment, care, and cure of human diseases that is not available elsewhere in the Hospital. The goal of the Center is to enable clinical investigators to perform their research using modern techniques of study design, data acquisition, and data analysis while maintaining the high standard of patient care for which the Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center is known. The GCRC gives top priority to NIH-funded and investigator initiated research but studies funded by foundations, industry and other sources also are welcome.

The Harvard-Thorndike General Clinical Research Center at Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center in Boston MA is located on the 8th floor of the Feldberg Building. Funding for the Beth Israel-Deaconess GCRC derives from an institutional grant awarded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) within the National Institutes of Health. The GCRC, now beginning its twenty-fifth year of continuous funding, at this site, has 8 inpatient beds, five outpatient rooms and a procedure room that has been utilized for studies of human physiology and pathology including carbohydrate metabolism and cardiovascular physiology.

The GCRC houses two research dual energy X-ray absorptiometers (DXA) for the analysis of body composition and bone density. New resources include an Exercise Physiology Core Lab, which contains a Bod Pod Body Composition System, a bioelectrical impedance analyzer, an ergometer, a treadmill with exercise test monitor, and a Sensormedics Delta Trac II for resting metabolic studies. Specialized resources for sleep studies and for remote EEG monitoring are available. The GCRC also maintains a metabolic research kitchen, sample processing laboratories, and a research computing facility that houses hardware and software for data storage and data analysis management.

The GCRC provides a wide array of services and facilities to investigators who have admitting privileges in the institution. These include bed and board, routine and specialized nursing care, routine and specialized nutrition services, assistance with specimen collection and measurements, facilities for specimen analyses, biostatistical assistance, and assistance with report writing and publication.

                                                                                                                                      II Training