University of Florida, Jacksonville (NCH Consortium)

Nemours Children’s Health and the University of Florida are in collaboration to conduct clinical trials in children and adults for the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Centers Network.

If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial or learning more about the clinical trials at this center, please contact:

Kathleen Kiley, BS
(904) 244-4694

Nemours Children's Health and the University of Florida are in collaboration to conduct trials in children and adults for the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Centers Network under the leadership of Kathryn Blake, PharmD (principal investigator). Nemours Children's Health conducts pediatric studies at the Jacksonville (Kathryn Blake, Pharm D and Gerardo Vazquez Garcia, MD), Orlando (Floyd Livingston, MD, and Joi Lucas, MD, site investigators), Pensacola (Okan Elidemir, MD, site investigator) and Delaware (Aaron Chidekel, MD, site investigator) locations. The University of Florida conducts adult studies in Jacksonville (Dave Cury, MD and Vandana Seeram, MD, site investigators).

Nemours Children's Health has had an active research program in pediatric respiratory disease since 1989 and has been a clinical site for the American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) since 1999.

The Nemours Biobank and Molecular Analysis Program in Wilmington, Delaware provides a biorepository service to the ACRC under the direction of Dr. Blake and Jennifer Holbrook for genomic DNA specimens and other samples stored for future use that has been in operation since 1999.

Each Nemours site has dedicated research space for respiratory research including examination rooms, vented rooms for methacholine challenges and sputum induction, and contiguous laboratory area for pulmonary function testing, and exhaled nitric oxide collection. All clinical coordinator staff are highly trained to perform these procedures. Each site has access to a Clinical Research Center for overnight stays.

Nemours has been a successful research site, consistently exceeding participant randomization targets, recruiting a high level of racial minority participants, scientific productivity including grant writing and publications, and cultivating junior investigators.

For over 20 years the University of Florida has had an active research program in adult studies of asthma, COPD, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with large minority participation. They have dedicated research equipment for pulmonary function testing and CT scanning.