Innovation Centers / Clinical & Translational Research / Clinical & Translational Research Center

Clinical & Translational Research Center

The purpose of the CTRC is to provide the resources necessary to facilitate translational, community-based, and multi-center clinical research projects at Meharry. We are expanding existing programs, nurturing new investigators, and encouraging full use of our services. We can conduct your study and execute your data collection. We are here to cultivate your scientific skill set and ensure you are on the road to independent research.

  • We review your studies and advise you on their feasibility.
  • We help you design and construct studies.
  • We execute your studies, drawing and processing biological samples—and collecting the necessary regulatory documents.
  • We provide you a CITI-trained nursing staff who meet regularly to discuss your protocol.
  • We offer monthly training on developments in the field of translational research.

Participate in a Trial

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

We are currently recruiting for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials. Please complete this form or call 615-327-6820 for information about volunteering.

Advancing our understanding of how the human body works when it is healthy and developing new, more effective vaccines and therapies requires clinical research on human beings. Unfortunately, many studies end prematurely, simply because there are not enough participants who qualify and the scientists conducting studies are unable to locate new participants.

If you would like to be contacted when we have a study relevant to your age, gender, family history, disease history, or other interests, please contact us at 615.327.6820. The CTRC can also help you sign up at ResearchMatch.org, a nationwide registry that matches volunteers with scientific studies. Member institutions and their scientists can now look to the registry for a ready source of potential volunteers.

If you have questions about what it means to be a research participant, please contact the Regulatory Affairs Unit at 615.327.5654 or irb@mmc.edu.

Major Projects

EMERGE (Electronic Medical Records and Genomics) Trial: Results provided to 500 African American participants enrolled for genomic testing

Nashville Early Diagnosis Lung Cancer Project: High risk participant screening for lung cancer for a period of 5 years

PREVENTABLE Trial: Role of STATINS in elderly (>75 years of age) and dementia and cardiovascular disease-free survival

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials: Meharry’s CTRC approved as a site to conduct COVID-19 vaccines: Received $1.5M from Novavax

Bayer and AMGEN trials: Completed 2020. Closed to accrual.

IGNITE (Implementing Genomics in Clinical Practice) Trials: GUARDD-US (Genomic testing to Understand and Address Renal Disease Disparity in US) enrolling African- American participants with hypertension and chronic kidney disease for APOL-1 gene testing.

Clinical & Translational Research Center Administration Team

Margaret Trietsch, RN, BSN

Research Coordinator II/Nurse
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 3276420
mtrietsch@mmc.edu

Sonja White, PharmD

Research Coordinator II/Pharmacist
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 327-5524
sowhite@mmc.edu

Sheena Simon, DNP, APRN, NP-C

Research Coordinator II/Nurse Practitioner
Clinical & Translational Research Center
Clinical & Translational Research Center

ssimon@mmc.edu

Victoria Leuang, B.S.

Manager, Community Outreach and Engagement
Office for Research & Innovation

vleuang@mmc.edu

Zudi Takizala, MBA, MD, MPH

Clinical Research Coordinator III
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 327-5827
ztakizala@mmc.edu

Clinical & Translational Research Center Research Team

Margaret Trietsch, RN, BSN

Research Coordinator II/Nurse
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 3276420
mtrietsch@mmc.edu

Rajbir Singh, MBBS

Assistant Professor & Executive Director, Precision Medicine & Health Equity Trials Design
School of Internal Medicine
Clinical & Translational Research Center, Center for Women's Health Research

(615) 963-3107
rsingh@mmc.edu

Sonja White, PharmD

Research Coordinator II/Pharmacist
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 327-5524
sowhite@mmc.edu

Sheena Simon, DNP, APRN, NP-C

Research Coordinator II/Nurse Practitioner
Clinical & Translational Research Center
Clinical & Translational Research Center

ssimon@mmc.edu

Zudi Takizala, MBA, MD, MPH

Clinical Research Coordinator III
Office for Research & Innovation
Clinical & Translational Research Center

(615) 327-5827
ztakizala@mmc.edu

Clinical & Translational Research Center Publications

Increased ease of access to genetic counseling for low-income women with breast cancer using a point of care screening tool.
Smita K Rao, Kimberly A Thomas, Rajbir Singh, Eden Biltibo, Philip E Lammers, Georgia L Wiesner

Evaluation of the MC4R gene across eMERGE network identifies many unreported obesity-associated variants.
Bahram Namjou, Ian B Stanaway, Todd Lingren, Frank D Mentch, Barbara Benoit, Ozan Dikilitas, Xinnan Niu, Ning Shang, Ashley H Shoemaker, David J Carey, Tooraj Mirshahi, Rajbir Singh, Jordan G Nestor, Hakon Hakonarson, Joshua C Denny, David R Crosslin, Gail P Jarvik, Iftikhar J Kullo, Marc S Williams, John B Harley

Proliferative potential and response to nivolumab in clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients.
Tian Zhang, Sarabjot Pabla, Felicia L Lenzo, Jeffrey M Conroy, Mary K Nesline, Sean T Glenn, Antonios Papanicolau-Sengos, Blake Burgher, Vincent Giamo, Jonathan Andreas, Yirong Wang, Wiam Bshara, Katherine G Madden, Keisuke Shirai, Konstantin Dragnev, Laura J Tafe, Rajan Gupta, Jason Zhu, Matthew Labriola, Shannon McCall, Daniel J George, Pooja Ghatalia, Farshid Dayyani, Robert Edwards, Michelle S Park, Rajbir Singh, Robin Jacob, Saby George, Bo Xu, Matthew Zibelman, Razelle Kurzrock, Carl Morrison

Proliferative potential and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade in lung cancer patients.
Sarabjot Pabla, Jeffrey M Conroy, Mary K Nesline, Sean T Glenn, Antonios Papanicolau-Sengos, Blake Burgher, Jacob Hagen, Vincent Giamo, Jonathan Andreas, Felicia L Lenzo, Wang Yirong, Grace K Dy, Edwin Yau, Amy Early, Hongbin Chen, Wiam Bshara, Katherine G Madden, Keisuke Shirai, Konstantin Dragnev, Laura J Tafe, Daniele Marin, Jason Zhu, Jeff Clarke, Matthew Labriola, Shannon McCall, Tian Zhang, Matthew Zibelman, Pooja Ghatalia, Isabel Araujo-Fernandez, Arun Singavi, Ben George, Andrew Craig MacKinnon, Jonathan Thompson, Rajbir Singh, Robin Jacob, Lynn Dressler, Mark Steciuk, Oliver Binns, Deepa Kasuganti, Neel Shah, Marc Ernstoff, Kunle Odunsi, Razelle Kurzrock, Mark Gardner, Lorenzo Galluzzi, Carl Morrison

Next generation sequencing of PD-L1 for predicting response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Jeffrey M Conroy, Sarabjot Pabla, Mary K Nesline, Sean T Glenn, Antonios Papanicolau-Sengos, Blake Burgher, Jonathan Andreas, Vincent Giamo, Yirong Wang, Felicia L Lenzo, Wiam Bshara, Maya Khalil, Grace K Dy, Katherine G Madden, Keisuke Shirai, Konstantin Dragnev, Laura J Tafe, Jason Zhu, Matthew Labriola, Daniele Marin, Shannon J McCall, Jeffrey Clarke, Daniel J George, Tian Zhang, Matthew Zibelman, Pooja Ghatalia, Isabel Araujo-Fernandez, Luis de la Cruz-Merino, Arun Singavi, Ben George, Alexander C MacKinnon, Jonathan Thompson, Rajbir Singh, Robin Jacob, Deepa Kasuganti, Neel Shah, Roger Day, Lorenzo Galluzzi, Mark Gardner, Carl Morrison