Research

Learn more about our dedicated to clinical research and how it shapes our efforts to transform patient care.

Our active research

St. David’s HealthCare, a health leader in central Texas, is renowned for clinical excellence, as evidenced by our numerous awards and accolades for quality and safety. Perhaps less well known is that we are also a pioneer in clinical research and biomedical innovation. Our physicians are exploring basic science and new treatments in cardiology, stroke, spinal surgery and oncology. These research and innovation programs are offering expanded treatment options for patients with a wide range of medical conditions.

About the Office of Research

Research is at the core of what we do at St. David’s HealthCare, because it lays the foundation for advances in patient care. Our research staff and physician researchers strive to create innovative new technologies, discover industry breakthroughs, spawn new economic opportunities and pave the way for the next generation of leaders and researchers.

St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research was established to better support and coordinate research across St. David’s. We are here to help research studies get launched and completed on time, all the while ensuring safety and the integrity of the projects. The Office of Research provides programs and services to support St. David’s researchers and medical staff in their research efforts.

We can help you identify grant opportunities, manage contracts and study startup, protect intellectual property, work with academic and industry partners and highlight research achievements, and more. Please contact the Office of Research if you are interested in collaboration.

Research leadership

Raymond Atilano, PhD
Division Director of Clinical Research
St. David's & CWT Division Research Council Chair

Philip Oilepo, MBA
Regional Director of Human Research Protections & IRB Chair
St. David's Healthcare

Valerie Nelson, CIP, CCRP
IRB Coordinator
St. David's HealthCare

Courtney Shell, PhD
Spine Research Scientist
St. David's HealthCare

Sanghamitra Mohanty, MD, MS, FHRS
Director, Translational Research, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center

Krishna Saini, MBBS
Clinical Research Manager
St. David's Office of Research

Research locations

St. David’s HealthCare locations, FWA and congressional district:

St. David’s Medical Center
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 25
919 E. 32nd St.Austin, TX 78705

St. David’s South Austin Medical Center
FWA: FWA00015207
Congressional District: 21
901 W. Ben White Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704

Heart Hospital of Austin
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 10
3801 N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78756

St. David’s North Austin Medical Center
FWA: FWA00006406
Congressional District: 17
12221 N. MoPac Expwy
Austin, TX 78758

St. David’s Surgical Hospital
FWA: FWA00006406
Congressional District: 31
1201 W. Louis Henna Blvd.
Austin, TX 78681

St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center
FWA: FWA00024683
Congressional District: 31
2400 Round Rock Ave.
Round Rock, TX 78681

St. David’s Georgetown Hospital
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 31
2000 Scenic Dr.
Georgetown, TX 78626

St. David’s Children’s Hospital
FWA: FWA00006406
Congressional District: 17
12221 N. MoPac Expwy
Austin, TX 78758

Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 25
3000 N. IH 35, Suite 720
Austin, TX 78705

St. David’s Rehabilitation Hospital
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 25
919 E. 32nd St.
Austin, TX 78705

Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery
FWA: FWA00006406
Congressional District: 17
12221
RenfertAustin, TX 78758

Bailey Square Surgery Center
FWA: FWA00006399
Congressional District: 25
1111 West 34th St.
Austin, TX 78705

Other HCA locations, FWA and congressional district:

Las Palmas Medical Center
FWA: FWA00009715
Congressional District: 16
1801 N. Oregon St.
El Paso, TX 79902

Del Sol Medical Center
FWA: FWA00009715
Congressional District: 16
10301 Gateway Blvd W.
El Paso, TX 79925

Our mission and vision

The mission of the Office of Research is to safeguard, support, grow and promote the research enterprise of St. David’s HealthCare.

Safeguard

Provide oversight of research activities to ensure compliance and safety.

Support

Ensure that our medical staff and researchers can conduct their research at St. David’s.

Grow

Expand our research enterprise and build strong partnerships with academia and industry.

Promote

Build St. David’s locally and nationally through raising awareness of our research.

Networks and collaborations

St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research has or has had collaborations with the following collaborators through grants, clinical trials, and research studies.

• The Gulf Regional Area Stroke Programs (GRASP) Consortium
• The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• The University of Austin, Texas
• The University of Kansas School of Medicine
• Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Center at St. David's South Austin Medical Center
• University of Rochester
• Children's Optimal Health
• University of Pittsburgh, Pitt School of Medicine
• The University of Texas Medical Branch
• University of California Irvine, School of Medicine
• The University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing
• Lone Star Stroke Research Consortium
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• Texas State University
• The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School
• Duke Clinical Research Institute

St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research has or has had collaborations with the following professional organizations.

• Citi program
• Primer public responsibility in medicine and research
• Association of clinical research professionals
• SOCRA for clinical research excellence

Researchers

Sai Shishir Shetty, PharmD, MHI
Clinical Biostatistician, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center

Christine Courchaine Brown MSN, RN
Clinical Research Coordinator at St. David’s Women’s Center of Texas, a campus of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center

Contact us

St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research
1015 East 32nd Street, Suite 414
Austin, TX 78705

Clinical research information for patients

Participation in clinical research fulfills a vitally important need to advance medical science for the benefit of patients.

People from all walks of life participate in medical research for a variety of reasons. Some who have an illness or disease are thankful for the opportunity to help doctors understand and develop treatments. These individuals may also be willing to receive an experimental treatment or the additional care available to participants. Healthy volunteers, on the other hand, may join a research study to help others and contribute to advancing medical science. Patients and physicians who participate must be aware of the benefits, and potential risks, of being a part of a research study.

Find resources that are useful if you are thinking about participating in a clinical trial. If you are a patient considering participation in a clinical research study, be sure to talk to your doctor, the study doctor, and your family to gather as much information as possible. Weigh all of your options before deciding what is best for you.

Why research is important

Clinical research is the engine that drives all medical advances. Through clinical research, medical professionals and research scientists find ways to prevent, detect or treat diseases. They may develop and test new drugs or new drug combinations, new surgical procedures or devices, or new ways to use existing treatments. The goal of clinical research is to develop better methods to diagnose, treat or manage diseases and other conditions of the human body. Clinical research is vital for improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses and other medical conditions.

Please view a few of our featured St. David’s HealthCare Office of Research patient-physician stories involving our research.

Featured research stories

Here are a few recent stories about new research and technology across St. David’s HealthCare:

• Novel brain stents improve patient’s lives: KVUE Interview with Mae Collins, stroke survivor and with James Waldron, MD on brain stents.
• A new procedure in the treatment of strokes: a 'game changer’
• Acting F.A.S.T. an 11-year-old boy makes a huge difference in his grandfather’s life. Educational outreach and research findings on stroke prevention demonstrate the importance of knowing the signs of stroke and how this can impact outcomes. Research and community education and outreach is a vital part of what St. David’s Medical Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center provides for our community.
• The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St. David’s Medical Center is among the world’s preeminent international treatment, training and research centers dedicated to the latest treatment advances for correcting abnormal heart rhythms, such as Atrial Fibrillation. Led by Andrea Natale M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S., F.E.S.C., Executive Medical Director, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center.
• Texas cardiac arrhythmia institute tests new implant. Cardiac electrophysiologist Rodney Horton, M.D. at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute was in the studio with Gigi Barnett to new technology that identifies heart stroke risks. See the video on KXAN.