Harborview Anesthesiology Research Center (HARC)

HARC Overview

The Harborview Medical Center (HMC) Anesthesiology Department is committed to supporting the University of Washington Anesthesiology Department’s research and academic missions by facilitating scholarly activity in the clinical settings of perioperative medicine, pain management, and critical care.

The presence at HMC of (1) a busy and varied operating room caseload, (2) a departmental commitment to staffing the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit, (3) established and productive interdepartmental research collaborations (Neurosurgery, Surgery, Rehabilitation Medicine, Pediatrics, UW Burn Center, Medic One), and (4) an active acute pain service, all in a tertiary, academically-oriented referral and Level 1 trauma center, offers significant potential for an organized and efficient clinical research program.

Furthermore, departmental staff includes increasing numbers of junior faculty who are motivated to perform and publish ‘scholarly work’ for eventual academic promotion, and who may also benefit from research-related NIH medical education debt repayment programs. Lastly, an active, organized, and productive clinical anesthesia research program enhances the quality of care for HMC’s patients and medical staff, as the department produces objective evidence for anesthesia-related medical care and procedures that are safe, cost-effective, and state-of-the-art.

Goals

To better meet the mission of the Department of Anesthesiology, as well as to take full advantage of the unique translational and clinical research opportunities afforded at HMC, we have created a hospital-based clinical research center – the Harborview Anesthesiology Research Center (HARC) – with the following objectives:

1. To support and enhance the performance and dissemination of thoughtfully designed and carefully performed clinical research that will improve the quality, availability, and cost-effectiveness of resuscitation, perioperative care, pain management and critical care, including investigations funded by federal, private, and industry sponsors
2. To support and facilitate clinical and translational research by HMC anesthesiology faculty
3. To provide opportunities for training and experience in clinical research for junior faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students who are motivated for careers in academic medicine
4. To enhance recruitment of motivated physicians and scientists to academic careers in the UW and HMC Departments of Anesthesiology
5. To become (within five years) a self-supporting research program by leveraging thoughtful pilot investigations and seed funding to facilitate the successful pursuit of federal, foundation, and industry funding support.

Research Areas

Research in all broad areas of medical care relevant to our specialty – including resuscitation, perioperative care, critical care, and pain management – is encouraged. In addition, the HARC has formed a Clinical Research Advisory Panel, chaired by the HARC Director, Sam R. Sharar, MD, with representatives from current areas of clinical and/or research emphasis at HMC (see list below). These and other senior faculty members are committed to providing support for students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty who wish to participate in clinical research:

• Four (4) developed specialties:
• Neuroanesthesia & Traumatic Brain Injury
  Arthur Lam, MD
• Critical Care and Outcomes
  Miriam Treggiari, MD, MPH
• Spine Surgery
  Lorri Lee, MD
• Pediatrics
  Monica Vavilala, MD
• Additional, as yet undeveloped specialties (e.g., pain/regional anesthesia, prehospital EMS)

HARC Personnel and Support

The HARC is located at Harborview Medical Center (Seattle, WA) and is directed by Sam Sharar, MD. Its infrastructure includes administrative, research assistant, clinical database interrogation, and statistical expertise dedicated to supporting externally funded investigators, but who are also available to selected investigators performing pilot projects judged to have potential for significant clinical impact and/or future external funding success.
To assist interested individuals, the HARC maintains an inventory of ongoing research projects at HMC, as well as an inventory of potential research funding opportunities relevant to HARC research emphasis areas. In addition, the HARC offers a paid full-time research fellowship position that is available (on a competitive basis) for a one-year period. Prospective applicants for the HARC research fellowship should contact the HARC Director, Sam R. Sharar, MD, for further information (contact information below)

Pilot Research Project Funding

Limited amounts of research seed funding are available through both the HARC and the UW Department of Anesthesiology, and applications from all research areas are welcome. Individuals interested in such clinical research and/or seed funding are encouraged to contact the HARC director Sam R. Sharar, MD, or appropriate members of the Advisory Panel for further information. 

HARC application guidelines for preparing HARC funding applications.

More Information/Contact:

For more information on HARC, its facilities and its programs, please contact:

Sam R. Sharar, MD Harborview Medical Center Department of Anesthesiology 325 Ninth Avenue Box 359724 Seattle, WA 98104-2499 email: sharar@u.washington.edu