Project Summary
The Southwestern Stroke Alliance (SSA) has applied to become a new Stroke Net regional coordinating center (RCC) with the goal of developing, promoting, and conducting high-quality, multi-site stroke clinical trials focused on key interventions in stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery. The SSA-RCC will emphasize recruiting special population patients and will have an interdisciplinary team of specialists with significant experience in conducting stroke clinical trials. The University of New Mexico and University of Colorado will serve as academic hubs for the SSA-RCC with multiple outreach sites in New Mexico, West Texas, and Colorado. The SSA-RCC will work to increase the recruitment of underrepresented minority populations in stroke clinical trials through targeted outreach and education efforts, culturally sensitive recruitment and retention protocols, partnerships with healthcare providers and community organizations, and training and support for junior faculty, fellows, and research coordinators. The network will also share best practices and resources with other members of the national research network and develop and promote standards for the recruitment of special populations in stroke clinical trials. The SSA-RCC will leverage and consolidate its existing infrastructure, established collaborations, and experience in conducting stroke clinical research and in the recovery and rehabilitation setting to achieve its specific aims. The Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators are committed to partnering with Stroke Net and other RCCs to offer every eligible patient the opportunity to participate in a trial conducted by the network with a focus on the recruitment of special populations. The SSA-RCC aims to improve stroke clinical trial recruitment and retention and accelerate the translation of stroke therapeutics from bench to bedside, ultimately improving stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery for all patients.