The Harvard Catalyst is a pan-Harvard University enterprise dedicated to improving human health. It is a shared enterprise of Harvard University, its ten schools and its eighteen Academic Healthcare Centers, as well as the Boston College School of Nursing, MIT, the Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and numerous community partners. Harvard Catalyst was founded in May 2008. The resources of the Harvard Catalyst are available to all faculties at Harvard regardless of their institutional affiliation or academic degree.
The Center for Clinical Investigation at Brigham and Women's Hospital provides inpatient and outpatient units for clinical research, in addition to other resources. The inpatient unit is located on the ninth floor of the Hospital Towers, (6,000 square feet). The inpatient facility includes the Metabolic Phenotyping Core, Specimen Processing and Phlebotomy, Intensive Physiologic Monitoring Unit, Standard Bed Units, and non-invasive Ultrasound equipment. In addition, there are resources in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, located in the Center for Women and Newborns.
There are two Ambulatory research units associated with the CCI. The Physiologic Research unit is located at 221 Longwood Avenue, (2,400 square feet). This includes a waiting room, 5 examination rooms, staff workstation area, one infusion room, a metabolic kitchen, patient dining room, conference area, and small laboratory/specimen processing area.
The ambulatory unit for Therapeutic and Interventional Research is located on the fourth floor of the original Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, (1,800 square feet). This space includes a reception area, four exam rooms, a procedure room, and a small laboratory for processing and storing specimens. There is also an Infusion Center with four rooms equipped to deliver controlled-rate intravenous infusions to patients with appropriate hemodynamic monitoring.
There is a network of over 25 computers that make up the C-SMART system used on the Intensive Physiologic Monitoring Unit. The focus of the Informatics Core is to provide 24-hour availability of all user files, network programs, and data files to the Informatics Core, Core Lab, Dietary, Nursing, and Administration.
The Metabolic Phenotyping Core operates dietary service seven days per week, allowing continuous research support for all studies from 7:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. There are currently two metabolic research kitchens. The inpatient 9A kitchen services both inpatient and outpatient studies. The satellite kitchen is located at the Ambulatory Physiologic Research unit and has the capacity to study cohorts of 25-30 participants in outpatient-controlled nutrient feeding studies.
The Biostatistics Core provides written reviews for each submitted protocol with respect to experimental design, statistical power, and proposed analyses. If the statistical component of a protocol needs strengthening, suggestions are included regarding enhancement in appropriate areas. In addition, the Biostatisticians provide statistical collaboration by performing the analyses and writing the methods and results sections of manuscripts, and answering any questions that arise in the editorial review process. Informal consultations are also available.
The Laboratory’s primary operation is the advanced analyses of peptide and steroid hormones and other trace analytes in blood and urine. Currently the Laboratory is divided into three components: Analytical, Genetics, and the Specimen Processing and Phlebotomy. In addition to the Clinical Research Centers at each hospital, the Harvard CTSC has a centralized core laboratory that is CLIA certified and available to all investigators. The Core Laboratory will allow the batched analysis of analytes with rapid turnaround and highly accurate results.