Is centralization an advantage or just more bureaucracy?
YUEN: It’s always a double-edged sword. With a central office you give up your control over hiring, but it simplifies the process. I think what Stanford is doing here now with the trials office and other enhancement provides much help with little or no downside. Some institutions have almost all of their trials processing centralized. The University of Michigan is one example. Q: At what point do researchers usually come to you? GREKOWICZ: When they have a protocol that they’re interested in. We can get the logistics off and running from that point. Q: What do you do for researchers? LUM: Depending on the investigators we really try to “handle” all aspects of clinical research. We go beyond trials administration. For example, Brandy and I do a lot of “shopping” for trials at all levels, especially for phase I and II trials targeting a specific tumor type and innovative therapies. SIKIC: Bert has special expertise in cancer pharmacology in the area of drug disposition and how drugs are
