Scientific and Data Coordinating Centers Program

Arbor Research Scientific and Data Coordinating Centers (SDCCs) consist of a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, project managers, analysts, clinical monitors, project support personnel, and medical editors. Together, they form a project management nexus that allows busy investigators separated by miles and time zones to collaboratively pursue clinical research excellence.

Study Design

Arbor Research investigators and staff collaborate to design robust protocols to answer important clinical questions. Our diverse staff of clinical research professionals participates in all aspects of study design and conduct, from concept development through to publication of results.  

Instrument & Software Development

Our original, prospective studies allow investigators to identify and obtain the specific data necessary to answer important research questions. When developing questionnaires, our clinicians and statisticians collaborate to ensure that data collection will be feasible, informative, and powerful. We work with both electronic and paper-based data collection systems, gathering information from a wide range of health care sources: doctors, technicians, nurses, insurers, and patients. We enhance agile data collection with ArborLink, a flexible online data entry platform created by Arbor Research that functions seamlessly across languages and cultures.

Patient Recruitment

Sound methods for study recruitment lay the foundation for our studies. With extensive experience in sampling and outreach techniques, we ensure that the recruitment of subjects is reliable. 

Data & Specimen Collection

Arbor Research staff understand that data shouldn’t exist in a vacuum, but instead must be gathered in an environment that ensures data integrity. A sound infrastructure for data collection helps to ensure that data are clean and dependable, which, in turn, contributes to reliable research conclusions.  Most of our large research networks collect, process, examine and store biologic specimens to answer ongoing and future research questions. We work closely with clinical research sites and biorepositories to track the handling of thousands of biospecimens to ensure the quality of these materials.

Data Analysis & Management

Searching for answers to difficult yet important questions about health care is our everyday work. The allocation of scarce organs for transplantation and the identification of best practices for urology, nephrology, hepatology, and other patients across cultures and economic systems — these are some of the challenging areas we study. We employ many options, including large-scale prospective studies, original data collection, and analysis of existing databases — to find evidence that supports effective practice.

The strength of our research depends on the integrity of our data. Amassing and managing large, accurate data sets is the heart of our work. We build new databases that answer specific research questions; we also adapt existing administrative databases to identify practice patterns.

Communication & Dissemination

Accuracy in data reporting depends on a conscientious review of inputs before they become public. We excel at creating and maintaining websites that allow users to privately and securely review reported data before it is analyzed. We have created customized online data-collection software to support several of our projects.

Identifying important trends in patient care is only the first step in our work. Our findings must reach the right audience in order to have an impact. Arbor Research developers and programmers have a wealth of experience building websites to deliver information to the physicians, patients, and decision-makers who need it most.

Program Leadership

  • Abigail Smith, PhD
    Abigail Smith, PhD
    Scientific and Data Coordinating Centers Program
    Scientific Director
  • John Graff, PhD, MS
    John Graff, PhD, MS
    Scientific and Data Coordinating Centers Program
    Program Director