Clinical Research & Patient Care Core (CRPCC)

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IN-TRAC Clinical Research & Patient Care Core (CRPCC) ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious disease cause of death worldwide. In the US, TB incidence rates are historically low, but control remains challenging in certain populations, including the communities along the US border with Mexico. Thus, there is an urgent need for the next generation of TB researchers to have an understanding of the clinical and epidemiological aspects of TB research, as a foundation for their future leadership in the development of improved TB diagnostics, surveillance, treatments and vaccines. The Clinical Research & Patient Care Core (CRPCC) of the IN-TRAC will provide to New TB Investigators (NIs) and investigators new to the TB field, the infrastructure, resources and training in TB clinical research, and education on the challenges faced by clinicians in managing TB cases. Our training sites are strategically located in south Texas, a state adjacent to Mexico, which is the number one country of origin for foreign-born TB cases in the US. The TB clinical research site is led by Dr. Restrepo, an expert in TB field epidemiology and pathogenesis in TB patients with diabetes comorbidity or old age. Her field site is unique within the US due to its access to TB patients enrolled on the Mexican side of the Texas border. The TB patient care training will be in San Antonio, led by Drs. Armitige and Seaworth, an exemplary team of physicians who are affiliated with the only free-standing TB hospital in the US, the Texas Center for Infectious Diseases (TCID). In the same setting, there are also busy outpatient clinics: The San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department Chest Clinic, and a TB regional training and medical consultation Center of Excellence (The Heartland National TB Center; HNTBC). Our Aims are to: Aim 1. Execute a personalized training curriculum on TB clinical research studies. We have designed a hybrid (hands-on and virtual) training curriculum for IN-TRAC participants on all aspects of Clinical TB Research, including ethics, study design, field logistics, data and specimen management, specimen processing and data analysis plans and communications. Aim 2. Execute a personalized training curriculum on TB patient care. IN-TRAC participants will be educated on the complex set of decisions that physicians make, particularly during the management of difficult TB cases (e.g. with DR-TB, or with social problems such as homelessness), and who require specialized management and prolonged in-hospital stays. The mentoring team will meet with each IN-TRAC participant prior to their rotation to discuss customization of the core curriculum, including the development of a pilot project, depending on the IN-TRAC participant’s interest. IN-TRAC participants will provide a written and oral evaluation of their training experience.