University of Minnesota researchers will take part in a national effort to find new stroke prevention, treatment and recovery methods.
This summer, the University will begin its work with the National Institutes of Healths StrokeNet a network of 25 institutions nationwide focused on stroke research after recently receiving funding for research and the training of stroke clinical researchers.
The purpose of this network is to really create an infrastructure, a tool, to run these high-impact clinical trials, said Mustapha Ezzeddine, associate professor in the Department of Neurology and principal investigator for StrokeNet at the University.
Each of the institutions will receive a one-time $200,000 grant from theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research costs and will get more funding as the trials start up. Theyll also receive $50,000 each year for three years for training new clinical researchers.
The institutions will share the data they collect among themselves in an effort to speed up research and cut costs.
It has been six months since StrokeNet began, but its first national meeting was earlier this month. There, it was decided which existing NIH stroke clinical trials would continue and what institutions would conduct them.
Before the national meeting, the Universitys StrokeNet team was hard at work behind the scenes creating relationships with stroke specialists around Minnesota, said Michelle Biros, professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and co-principal investigator for StrokeNet at the University. The team was also advertising the new network to try to find local hospitals interested in participating in futuretrials, Biros said.
Stroke was the fifth-leading cause of death in Minnesota in 2011, according to the states Department of Health. Nationally, its the fourth-leading cause of death, according to the NIH.
To continue its work, the Universitys research team is searching for fellows or senior residents from within the institution who have promising stroke research careers in their future, Ezzeddine said.
Trials and training for researchers havent begun yet, but the first fellow will join the team in July, Ezzeddine said.
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U researchers work to strengthen stroke care