Yale has received a grant to support the SPIRIT (Southern New England Partnership in Stroke Research, Innovation, and Treatment) Coordinating Center in StrokeNet. Partnering with Brown University and Hartford Healthcare, the consortium has become one of 29 National Institutes of Health (NIH) StrokeNet clinical trial sites, advancing stroke treatment, stroke prevention, and recovery and rehabilitation following a stroke.
Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the StrokeNet clinical trials network was launched by the NIH in 2014. StrokeNet aims to maximize efficiencies to develop, promote, and conduct high-quality, multi-site clinical trials (both small and large) focused on key interventions in stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery.
“Our program will now provide options for our patients to participate in clinical trials evaluating the most cutting-edge, novel therapeutics for acute stroke treatment, secondary prevention and rehabilitation,” said Joseph Schindler, an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery and a leader of the stroke program at Yale.
Other leaders of the Yale stroke program include associate professor of neurology Lauren Sansing, and associate professor of neurosurgery Charles Matouk. “We couldn’t be more proud to be a part of NIH StrokeNet. This national recognition is evidence of the tremendous growth of our clinical and research stroke programs, and our emergence as leaders in the field,” said Matouk.
“In addition to bringing trials to our patients, StrokeNet provides outstanding opportunities for translational stroke research education for our fellows, both within our network and nationally,” Sansing said.
Principal investigators for the grant include Yale University associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery Kevin Sheth, Brown University professor of clinical neuroscience and neurology Karen Furie, and Hartford Healthcare physician-in-chief Mark Alberts.
“We are particularly proud to lead a collaborative effort with our partners at Brown University and Hartford Healthcare, one which will enhance training opportunities in strokes, support further community engagement, and bring new treatments to our region,” Sheth said.