Therapeutic Areas

Neurology
Psychiatry/Psychology

Center Overview

Schuster Medical Research Institute is a community-based clinical research facility. Our staff has accumulated over 10 years experience in delivering cutting-edge investigational therapy to the community with studies in Neurosciences. We are based in the West San Fernando Valley in Southern California, adjacent to Sherman Oaks Hospital. Through this partnership with the hospital we offer state-of-the-art Laboratory and Diagnostic facilities.

Performance Metrics

Number of Studies Conducted: 100+
Number of Studies Actually Completed: 90+
Number of Active Patients in the Database: 100+
Regulatory Submission Turn-Around Time: 1 Week(s)
Average Percent of Total Patients Randomized: 80%
Average Percent of ‘Completed’ Studies that met Enrollment Goals: 95%
EDC Capabilities: Yes

Clinical Research Experience

Here, at SMRI, we have spent the past 10 years specializing in Phase II-IV trials in the following therapeutic areas:

• Alzheimer's Disease
• Bipolar Disorder
• Fibromyalgia
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Insomnia
• Major Depressive Disorder,Treatment Resistant Depression
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Smoking cessation
• Substance Abuse
• Vascular Dementia
• Capability for Inpatient Studies-Phase II

Our experience with different laboratories, Sponsors and CRO's includes:

• Dov
• Eli Lilly
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Johnson & Johnson
• Mayo
• Omnicare
• PPD
• Covance
• Quintiles
• Bristol Myers Squibb
• Takeda
• Forest
• Sanofi-Aventis
• I3 Research
• Advanced Biologics
• Schwarz Pharma
• Parexel
• Ortho McNeil
• Pfizer

Facility Description

Our group provides for efficient data retrieval and management with customized data collection instruments and remote data entry functionality.

Research Coordination and Management personnel are trained, seasoned, certified research professionals. Research personnel perform skilled data retrieval, auditing, and quality assurance to secure consistent and accurate results in accordance with GCP guidelines and within sponsor timelines.

We are a research facility with full capability to efficiently process specimens with a refrigerated centrifuge and specimen storage in a -20° freezer / refrigerator. We have access to an onsite laboratory for specimen processing.

Investigator Experience

Dr. Jose Martin Itzcovich Schuster, SMRI's president and founder, has over 24 years of combined experience in clinical research, Neurosciences, and psychiatric medicine. Dr. Schuster has been Principal Investigator on several trials including applications in:

• Major Depressive Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Panic Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Insomnia
• Migraines

He is currently the Medical Director of the Sherman Oaks Partial Hospitalization Program, Director of psychiatric services and Geropsych Unit at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Dr. Schuster is also an Assistant Clinical Supervisor for the Anxiety Disorder Clinic at UCLA.

Dr. Leo Labunsky, M.D., an internal medicine specialist with over 30 years experience. He has been a subinvestigator at SMRI for 4 years. He consults on ECG’s, H&P’s, and overall general physical health of patients.

Dr. Janelle Haider, M.D., has completed her Residency in Psychiatry at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. At SMRI she conducts psychiatric evaluations, physical exams and performs psychometric scales.

Staff Expertise

The clinical staff expertise and experience at SMRI is unparalleled! Working closely with our team of physicians, we have 1 Master Degreed NP+ RN with an average experience level of more than fifteen years. Our Manager, Senior Certified Clinical Research Coordinator, has over 15 years of clinical research experience. Our Clinical Research Coordinators are experienced in all aspects of clinical trials, from Regulatory issues to rapid recruitment methods, and trained to deliver complete and accurate research data, while meeting contract goals and sponsor timelines. SMRI's utilization of a clinical team concept, whereby our physicians work together with our Research Coordinators, enables the Institute to provide the most optimal research experience for all of our study participants.

Patient Demographics

Bilingual Site
Dr. Schuster is of Hispanic origin and can conduct all interviews in Spanish, as well as the coordinators.

Patient Demographics
Our group offers a large and diverse patient population which is database accessible, allowing for efficient patient recruitment based on various target health indicators. Our affiliations with various health institutions include: Sherman Oaks Hospital Partial Hospitalization Program, and Healthcare Medical Group, among others. These partnerships allow us access to their extensive patient database.

Our patient pool is demographically diverse, but estimated percentages are:

• 50% Caucasian
• 30% Hispanic
• 12% African American
• 8% Asian;
• 53% Female
• 47% Female;
• 76% 18-65 y.o.a;
• 24% 66+ y.o.a

Other Information

For more information, please visit our website at www.smrionline.com.

Contact Center

If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical trial there, please complete and send the email form below. A representative from the research center will then follow up with you.

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