Our Mission

This program is intended to support community engagement to develop funded research partnerships. Funds can be used for research development activities, including convening partners, working with individuals pursuing related work, and conducting needs assessments in community settings. The funds cannot be used to support actual human-subjects research protocols, which can be funded under other OSCTR pilot research programs and/or external funding.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, and pancreatic cancer has some of the lowest 5-year survival rates of any cancer. Early detection can improve survival rates. When pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is initially diagnosed at stage IV, patients have a 2.7% 5-year survival rate. When diagnosis occurs at Stage I or IIA, this improves to 34%. However, there are currently no accurate blood tests for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

The OCTSI has partnered with the OUHC Department of Pediatrics and been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop the Oklahoma Pediatric Clinical Trial Network. This network will be part of the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network that is participating in the Environmental Impacts of Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program to effectively investigate the impacts of environmental exposures from the womb through later years in a child’s life. The Principal Investigator of this award is Dr. Paul Darden, Chief of General and Community Pediatrics at OUHC.