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The Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center (VCIC) is located within the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  The center’s primary focus is the establishment of clinical trials directed at investigating novel treatments or diagnostic tools in a variety of spontaneous disease processes in client-owned animals.  The VCIC staff is comprised of three veterinarians who assist and guide principal investigators through the process of protocol development and study design as well as four veterinary nurses/technicians who are responsible for providing quality patient care as well as data collection and recruitment for our various studies.  The VCIC collaborates with several other schools and centers at the University of Pennsylvania including the School of Medicine, the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the Investigational Drug Service at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.   The various trials and studies of the VCIC are sponsored by external foundations and industry (i.e., pharmaceutical and pet food companies) as well as internal funding provided by the Department of Clinical Studies-Philadelphia.  The Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center works closely with individual clinicians at MJR-VHUP who have active trials/studies aimed at advancing medical care of veterinary patients in such specialties as Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Critical Care and Clinical Nutrition to name a few.

Mission Statement:  To promote and advance veterinary medicine by providing investigators with the support necessary to conduct clinical trials aimed at the discovery of novel approaches to disease treatment, management, and prevention.

Goals: 

• To serve as a center for investigators, sponsors and potential study volunteers interested in participating in or conducting clinical trials.
• To coordinate and facilitate all aspects of a study or trial using best practices and adherance to proper protocol.
• To organize and maintain a database of clinical studies/trials and resources.

Affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania:  Since the VCIC is a clinical service of the Matthew J Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, this relationship affords us the opportunity to utilize many of the state of the art equipment and facilities available at one of the nation’s top Veterinary Teaching Hospitals.

Facilities and Equipment:

Current Clinical Trials