Chicago Association for Research and Education in Science

“The organization does not have any committees with the authority to act on behalf of the governing body.”

“The auditor presents the form 990 to board members at a regularly scheduled meeting or it is distributed electronically for review prior to submission.”

“Annually, all officers, directors, trustees and key employees are provided a copy of the conflict of interest policy and required to sign a statement either identifying potential conflicts or confirming that no such conflicts exist.”

“The president of the organization engages an outside entity every third year to conduct a market analysis and salary comparability study to determine if the salaries for the executive director and other top management officials are in an acceptable range. The report from the outside entity is shared with the board of directors at a regularly scheduled meeting. The discussion is recorded in the minutes.”

“Care's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“The hines cooperative studies program coordinating center (cspcc): the center provides biostatistical, data processing, project management and site management support for multi-center randomized clinical trials. It has been in existence since 1972 and has supported studies sponsored by the department of veterans affairs, the national institutes of health and the private sector. The staff size is 44 and includes biostatisticians, computer programmers, data coordinators, project managers, forms designers, data entry staff and an administrative core. Cspcc has broad collaborative experience working with investigators in a variety of medical specialities. Cspcc was the coordinating center for the cochlear implant study, the hearing aid study, and the hearing aid follow-up study. The center also supported the recently completed sensorineural hearing loss trial and the long-term study of deep brain stimulation for parkinson's disease: a longitudinal follow-up.”

“The musculoskeletal biomechanics laboratory: the musculoskeletal biomechanics laboratory established in 1980 is a nationally and internationally recognized facility for research and education in orthopaedic biomechanics. The laboratory occupies more than 1,000 sq. Ft. Of space in the edward hines, jr. Va hospital rehabilitation research and development center, with an additional 1,000 sq. Ft. Of office space for the use of investigators. The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for conducting biomechanical investigations on bone and soft tissues. The staff experience in electromechanical instrumentation, designing test fixtures and working with cadaveric specimens is a valuable asset in designing and executing research projects in the laboratory. Over the last several years research projects in the biomechanics laboratory have focused on biomechanical evaluations of implants and instrumentation for degenerative joint disease and fractures, nonoperative treatment of fractures and deformities of the spine, and have made significant contributions to the understanding of the biomechanical behavior of normal, degenerative and injured joints of the human musculoskeletal system.”

“Culture, typing, pcr and susceptibility of clostridium difficile from clinical specimens: clostridium difficile (cd) is a common nosocomial infection that causes pseudomembranous colitis and accounts for approximately 20% of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Since the early 2000's, many hospitals have reported large outbreaks of cdad with unexpectedly severe outcomes following fluroquinolone use. This may reflect the emergence of a new strain of cd with increased virulence of resistance. The purpose of this study is to collect, isolate, identify, pcr amplify, susceptibility test, and type using rea, clinical c. Difficile isolates from diverse us hospitals to determine the extent of cdad caused by the new epidemic strain, rea type bi, as well as other well recognized toxin variant strains.”

“Other program services: the chicago association for research and education in science (cares) has been serving veterans since 1984. The primary tax exempt purpose of cares is biomedical, clinical and health services research as well as health related educational activities in collaboration with the edward hines jr. Va hospital (hvah)and the captain james a. Lovell federal health care center (jalfhcc). This reasearch benefits united states veterans being treated at the hvah and the jalfhcc and the general public by advancing knowledge in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and disability. Education activities include the dissemination of research results through publication in quality medical journals and presentation at professional meetings all of which are intended to translate research results to clinical practice. Other education is geared to helping patients and their families understand and manage their medical conditions. During the past year, cares supported more than 100 individual researchers who cumulatively are conducting research projects in the following: diabetic foot ulcers, antibiotic-resistant infections, osteoporosis, retinopathy, obesity, bladder function, neurofibromatosis, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, rehabilitation research and development, pressure ulcers, hypertension, infectious diseases, colon cancer, schizophrenia, stroke, health services and outcomes research, kidney disease, alzheimer's, erectile dysfunction, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, musculoskeletal biomechanics, esophageal reflux and more.”