The Coordinating Center and Research Information Services (CCRIS) was created to take advantage of decades of Center for Health Research coordinating center experience on local, national, and international epidemiological and clinical trials. CCRIS as a department of TCHR was created and enlarged as demand for coordination and research information services increased and staff expertise and experience grew.

At the investigator level, CCRIS includes investigators accomplished in scientific disciplines including biostatistics, epidemiology, quantitative psychology, behavioral psychology, and chronic illness and disability. These investigators have extensive experience leading clinical trials and other public health studies in research areas as diverse as cancer, obesity, diabetes, pulmonary disease, nutrition, cardiovascular health, and mental health. They also have provided statistics expertise and consultation to many studies at TCHR and at other institutions.

The CCRIS investigators and other key CCRIS staff have led TCHR staff in serving as coordinating center for numerous federally funded multi-center clinical trials implementing individual and multiple protocols across numerous clinical sites. At an operational level, the CCRIS team includes technical directors and data managers with more than 20 years of experience in clinical trials data management. Newest studies underway for which TCHR is acting as coordinating center include PACS and X-ACT (see Research Experience pages on this website).

TCHR employs masters- and doctoral-level research analysts who manage data from collection through cleaning and storage to audit reports. TCHR staff have extensive experience designing, managing, analyzing, and storing complex, multi-site data sets. As part of their coordinating center experience, TCHR staff have drafted protocols and manuals of operations; developed data collection forms; formulated statistical designs and analytical approaches; and disseminated results for clinical sites.

The Center for Health Research, a professionally independent research arm of Kaiser Permanente, was formed in 1964 to study the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization (HMO) from within and publish findings in the public domain. TCHR research continues to benefit from Kaiser Permanente’s large-scale, state-of-the-art data systems; large population sample; and clinicians who know the value of research in improving care delivery and the health of patients.

The Center for Health Research is affiliated with Kaiser Permanente in three regions: Northwest (Oregon and Washington State), Hawaii, and Georgia. Its research brings together scientists from many fields to conduct research and demonstration projects across a broad range of lifestyle practices, health conditions, and health care delivery issues. TCHR is formally affiliated with universities, other research institutions, and various research networks nationally and internationally.