Research Resources

The Indiana Pediatric Biobank, based in the Department of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine, is a repository of more than 20,000 biospecimens (including blood and saliva samples) that can be analyzed using advanced biomedical technology. These samples are linked to clinical data that includes medications as well as other outcome measures.

The Translational Research and Integrative Biology Lab, located at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis, provides researchers a means of measuring and quantitating the level of molecular targets from specimens obtained from patients enrolled in clinical trials. Flexible, multi-faceted bench lab space is available for the support needed for specific studies using skilled personnel and state-of-the art equipment, including SNP, proteomics, sequencing, genomics/DNA, transcriptomics/RNA, ELISA’s and more.

The Tissue Culture Core at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research makes media specified by investigators. This facility is supported by institutional core grants, making it cost-effective for IU School of Medicine investigators. Related cores available to support pediatric research include a state-of-the-art Proteomics Core, Confocal and Deconvolution Microscope Cores, and high-throughput sequencing capability within the IU School of Medicine and within the Analytical Chemistry department at Indiana University.

The Pediatric Research Network, managed by the Children’s Health Services Research team, enrolls primary, secondary and tertiary care sites that can efficiently recruit patients from a broad range of socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds for general and subspecialty clinical research protocols.

The libraries on the IU School of Medicine Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses are important resources for students in graduate health programs. The collections in Bloomington number 7.2 million volumes and more than 70,000 journals. The Ruth Lilly Medical Library, located in the Medical Research Building on the Indianapolis campus, serves the School of Medicine and ancillary health sciences programs. This space offers state-of-the-art teaching facilities and study space, including small group conference rooms, a team-based learning classroom, and a computer testing and teaching laboratory in addition to study carrels on all three floors.

Producing clear, logical and well-written proposals and manuscripts can be a barrier for some promising young researchers. The Department of Pediatrics has developed a strategy that partners junior faculty with a professional writer and a senior investigator to accelerate the production of scientific manuscripts and research grants. Additionally, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) offers courses in grant writing.

The IU School of Medicine has access to extensive computing resources to meet the training needs for research, education and clinical care. More than 130 software applications are made available at no charge. Network connections to IU School of Medicine and departmental servers are made over a fast-switched Ethernet. Additionally, infrastructure services (including research supercomputing and research database services) are available via the IU Research Technology network, which spans the campuses at Bloomington and Indianapolis. This network connects to Internet2 and the National LambdaRail advanced research networks as well as the Indiana Gigapop for commodity Internet access.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) facilitates the translation of scientific discoveries in the lab into clinical trials and new patient treatments. This team provides access to resources, services, training, mentorship, education and funding opportunities for IU School of Medicine students, residents and fellows. Fellows can get a Master of Science in Clinical Research through the Clinical Investigation and Translational Education Program during their training.

The Regenstrief Institute at IU School of Medicine is an internationally recognized informatics and health care research organization. With an ability to search large databases to identify patient populations for research, the Regenstrief Institute is an unparalleled research tool. Regenstrief’s Informaticians have created the nation’s only statewide electronic medical records system and health information exchange, which captures data from hospitals, emergency rooms, pharmacies and laboratories across Indiana.