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In This Issue:
Elliot Israel, MD
More than 500 scientists and $224 million in federal research grants makes BWH one of the most powerful biomedical research institutes in the world. At the helm of the research engine are the principal investigators— the people who lead each team of researchers and take overall responsibility for the design, conduct and reporting of the studies.
Elliot Israel, MD, serves as principal investigator for several studies at a time that involve patients in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, which receives more than $8.5 million annually in federal funds. Several of Israel’s studies relate to research grants he has received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the NIH Asthma Clinical Research Network and to study severe asthma. Serving as director of both Respiratory Therapy and Clinical Research, Israel divides his time among patient care, research and teaching—the three prongs of the hospital’s mission. But research can be a full-time job by itself.
The responsibilities of a principal investigator involve all aspects of the research study. This includes submitting grants for funding, recruiting volunteers, training and supervising junior physicians, and analyzing and publishing the data.
The majority of Israel’s research focuses on respiratory conditions, such as asthma, and involves people who volunteer for the studies. They may be given various medications for asthma, for example, or may give blood or tissue samples as part of a study. “The ultimate goal is to advance our understanding of disease and health,” said Israel. “While a particular study may, or may not benefit the study volunteer at that time, our goal is to make advances in the understanding of the disease so we can improve treatment in the future.”
Barbara Barchard’s interest in advancing science as a study volunteer had a silver lining for her. The 49-year-old nurse, who has asthma, participated in a three-year study that looked at whether an inhaled asthma medication, called corticosteroids, caused a loss of bone density in women. By taking this medication and having regular bone density tests, Barchard not only gained control of her asthma for the first time since childhood, but she was also diagnosed with osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile.
“I never would have had a bone density test at such a young age, if I hadn’t been in the study,” said Barchard, a resident of Reading. Fortunately, “I was able to get early treatment. Also, my asthma has never been so well-managed. I have a whole new quality of life that I never had.”
Recruiting volunteers for studies and ensuring their safety in studies is another huge job of the principal investigator. Volunteers get free drugs, testing, and compensation for their time and the satisfaction of knowing that they may have made a contribution to improving asthma treatment for others,” said Israel.