Tuesday, October 3, 2006

The DCRI's Harrington Named New Director
By Julie McKeel

Robert Harrington, MD

Robert A. Harrington, M.D., a professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center, has been named the director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), effective October 4, 2006. A distinguished physician-scientist, Harrington currently serves as the co-director of cardiovascular research and the leader of cardiovascular clinical trials at the DCRI. Harrington, 45, succeeds Robert Califf, M.D., who will become the director of the new Duke Translational Medicine Institute (DTMI).

"I am honored to be chosen to lead the Duke Clinical Research Institute at this challenging yet exciting time for academic medicine and biomedical research,” said Harrington. “The DCRI has a well-deserved reputation for excellence and innovation in clinical research that we intend to both continue and expand.”

Harrington received his undergraduate degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA . He attended Dartmouth Medical School and received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1986. He was an intern, resident, and the chief medical resident in internal medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

As a fellow in cardiology at Duke University Medical Center, Harrington received training in interventional cardiology and research training in the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Diseases. He joined the Duke faculty in 1993.

Dr. Califf expressed his confidence in Dr. Harrington, commenting: “ Bob has played an instrumental role in making the DCRI what it is today and he is, without any doubt, the single most qualified individual to lead the DCRI in the next phase of its evolution. I have great confidence that he, along with the entire leadership team, will be extremely successful in taking the DCRI to the next level in setting the standards for clinical investigation and changing the practice of medicine.”

As the principal investigator for the Clinical Trials Network Best Practices (CTN-BP) initiative (part of the NIH Roadmap for Accelerating Medical Discovery to Improve Health grant), Harrington recognized the need for a more efficient and effective approach to clinical research. "The concept of a "network" is a step in the right direction toward advancing the nation's clinical research capability," said Harrington. "The operational efficiencies of a network of investigators, coupled with the scientific camaraderie that develops among researchers having similar goals and interests, should help advance the field of clinical research."

The author of multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts, reviews, book chapters, and editorials on cardiovascular disease and related topics, Harrington's recent research interests include investigating antithrombotic therapies to treat acute and chronic ischemic heart disease, and methods to minimize the acute complications of percutaneous coronary procedures. His studies focus on the mechanism of disease of the acute coronary syndromes and trying to better understand the issues of risk stratification in the care of patients with acute coronary syndromes. Throughout his research, he has been interested in improving upon the methodology of the conduct of clinical trials.

Dr. Califf noted that “Dr. Harrington is well-known, both nationally and internationally, as an inclusive leader who seeks collaboration as the primary method to advance the field. Given the national mandate to make clinical research ‘team science,' he is an ideal leader.”

Harrington co-edited the textbook Antiplatelet Therapy in Clinical Practice. He is an associate editor of the American Heart Journal and an editorial board member for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology . He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention. He currently chairs the American College of Cardiology Clinical Expert Consensus Document Task Force and the Task Force on Education Strategy. He is a member of the American Heart Association's Committee on Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiac Catheterization. He recently chaired the 2006 Annual Scientific Sessions for the American College of Cardiology.

Harrington currently serves as a member of the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee and as a member of the NHLBI Working Group on Clinical Trials Methodology.

“These are challenging times for clinicians caring for patients and, more broadly, for the health care system as we struggle to adapt to changes in the environment including quality reporting, pay for performance, electronic prescribing, and electronic medical records. The underlying theme is to understand how to aggregate, analyze, and apply data. The DCRI is uniquely positioned to be a global leader in this as we have a long history of leadership in promoting the integration of evidence into clinical practice.”