CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ohio Clinical Trials Collaborative (OCTC) has appointed Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, as Chair of its Neuro-Oncology Working Group. Barnholtz-Sloan is an Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Associate Director for Clinical Informatics, Institute for Computational Biology and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“Because Ohio is uniquely positioned as a stronghold of individual brain tumor investigators, novel neuro-oncology, basic science and clinical research, the OCTC has a world-class interdisciplinary team with the ability to study the genetic changes responsible for the onset, spread and recurrence of brain tumors,” said Barnholtz-Sloan.
“The OCTC will establish Ohio as one of the most efficient and effective states in which to develop new medicines and treatment strategies,” James Chmiel, MD, MPH, Chief Executive and Director of the OCTC said. “The development of new treatments for brain tumors is critical because patient survival has not improved substantially in 30 years.”
The OCTC provides centralized access to Ohio’s premier medical centers for clinical trial development. The pharmaceutical industry faces a challenging and expensive process for conduct of clinical trials. The OCTC streamlines the contracting, budgeting, approval of human subject use and patient recruitment/enrollment processes so medical discoveries can move to market faster.
“I am enthusiastic about leading this extraordinary statewide team to advance clinical trials in neuro-oncology and achieve our goal of developing new treatments for brain tumor patients,” said Barnholtz-Sloan.
The adult component of this working group will be co-chaired by David Peereboom, MD, Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Director, Clinical Research at The Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor & Neuro-Oncology Center and the pediatric component of this working group will be co-chaired by Jonathan Finlay, MD, Professor and Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
About the Ohio Clinical Trials Collaborative
The OCTC is an initiative under Governor John Kasich’s vision of a premier research medical corridor in Ohio that is co-founded by the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative at Case Western Reserve University, the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at The Ohio State University and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training at the University of Cincinnati. With offices at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, the OCTC seeks to establish Ohio as one of the most efficient and effective states in which to test new medications and treatment strategies. The OCTC offers economies of scale and unique capacity, leveraging expertise from across the state of Ohio to conduct clinical trials on behalf of industry sponsors. For more information, please go to www.ohioclintrials.org.
About Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center located at Case Western Reserve University. The center, which has been continuously funded since 1987, integrates the cancer research activities of the largest biomedical research and health care institutions in Ohio – Case Western Reserve, University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic. NCI-designated cancer centers are characterized by scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches to focus on the problem of cancer. It is led by Stanton Gerson, MD, Asa and Patricia Shiverick- Jane Shiverick (Tripp) Professor of Hematological Oncology, director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve, and director of the Seidman Cancer Center at UH Case Medical Center.
