Clinical Trials Methodology Course

The Clinical Trials Methodology Course (CTMC) in neurology-focused clinical trials is an intensive program designed to help junior investigators develop scientifically rigorous yet practical clinical trial protocols, and to focus on early consideration of funding mechanisms as a key trial planning activity. 

Jointly organized by Dr. Chris Coffey at the CTSDMC, Dr. Will Meurer at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Roger Lewis at Los Angeles BioMed, the course consists of distance learning, as well as on-site opportunities that alternate between Iowa City, IA and Ann Arbor, MI each year. The CTMC is jointly funded via the NeuroNEXT Network by the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke (NINDS). 

CTMC Info

Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics

The objective of the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics (ISIB) is to provide biostatistical research education and applied research opportunities to undergraduates. The institute is funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. CTSDMC Director Chris Coffey participates in the yearly institute as a faculty mentor.

ISIB

Society for Clinical Trials Participation

The CTDSMC is heavily involved in the Society for Clinical Trials, and has presented many topics at the Annual Meetings over the years. In 2025, the CTSDMC gave the following presentations at the SCT Annual Meeting: 

  • Pre-Conference Workshop: "Essentials of Clinical Trials," presented by Christopher S. Coffey, Dixie J. Ecklund, and Trevis Huff in collaboration with Julie Qidwai from RHO.
  • Invited Session: “Recent Advances in Addressing Design and Analysis Challenges of Cluster Randomized Trials," presented by Emine Bayman.
  • Invited Session: “Stopping Progress: Finding Effective Treatments Using Disease Progression Modeling,” presented by Christopher S. Coffey.
  • Oral Presentation: “Leveraging Interactive Data Visualization Software to Enhance Data Reporting and Quality: Examples from a Multi-Center Clinical Trial," presented by Charlie Choi and Helena Blumenau.
  • Oral Presentation: “Assessing Free-text Fields through Natural Language Processing to Enhance CRF Development and Data Quality," presented by Corey Moon.
  • Poster Presentation: “Sharing Clinical Trial Data in Limited-Access Repositories: An Example from NeuroNEXT," presented by Anna Gudjonsdottir.
  • Poster Presentation: “Optimizing Data Quality Using Interactive Visualizations for Data Cleaning and Query Resolution," presented by Jie Yin.

SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL TRIALS

To learn more about SCT, their mission, global impact, and much more, follow the the link.

sctweb.org

Short Courses by Dr. Christopher S. Coffey

Medical Monitoring
  • October 2018: Short Course at Annual Northeast ALS Consortium Meeting (Clearwater, FL)
  • October 2017: Faculty Member for the Short Course at Annual Northeast ALS Consortium Meeting (Clearwater, FL)

Adaptive Designs - How Can we Achieve the Promise
  • May 2018: Pre-Conference Workshop at Society for Clinical Trials Annual Meeting (Portland, OR)

Clinical Trials in the Drug Development Pipeline
  • April 2018: Faculty Member in a Short Course at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting (Los Angeles, CA)
  • April 2017: Faculty Member in a Short Course at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting (Boston, MA)

Adaptive Designs: Overview, Hurdles & Examples
  • American Statistical Association Traveling Course
    • April 2018: Washington Statistical Society (Washington, DC)
    • November 2017: Trenton/Princeton Chapter (Piscataway, NJ)
    • September 2017: San Diego Chapter (San Diego, CA)