Clinical Trial Resource Center

Therapeutic Areas

Cardiology/Vascular Diseases
Devices
Endocrinology
Family Medicine
Gastroenterology
Hematology
Hepatology (Liver, Pancreatic, Gall Bladder)
Immunology
Infections and Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Musculoskeletal
Nephrology
Neurology
Nutrition and Weight Loss
Obstetrics/Gynecology (Women’s Health)
Oncology
Orthopedics/Orthopedic Surgery
Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, Throat)
Pediatrics/Neonatology
Psychiatry/Psychology
Pulmonary/Respiratory Diseases
Rheumatology
Sleep
Trauma (Emergency, Injury, Surgery)
Urology
Vaccines

Center Overview

"Advancing the Future of Medicine"

Please take a moment to view our Research Video

Clinical Research Services is a department within St. Alexius Medical Center fully dedicated to providing research support services to physicians within our region and the valued patients they serve. St. Alexius Medical Center is a tertiary care facility affiliated with PrimeCare, a network that includes over 150 physicians both in private and institutional practice. We have been conducting clinical trials for over 25 years. This collaboration between our experienced investigators and highly motivated clinical research team allows us to offer the latest research medicines and treatments to our patients along with the highest quality service to our patients and sponsors.

Our office consists of 5 full-time employees and provides comprehensive research services and personalized care to research patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week (in addition, 9 clinical pharmacists with residency training have extensive experience as study coordinators). Responsibilities of our dedicated staff include placement of studies with appropriate investigators, regulatory and IRB document submission, study tracking, finalizing contracts and budgets, patient recruitment, providing study coordination and completing case report forms.

Careful precautions are taken to ensure the protection of our study participant’s rights and welfare. Participants are kept informed throughout the course of their participation in a clinical trial.

Mission:
The mission of Clinical Research Services is to advance the future of medicine by providing research opportunities for participants, physicians, our community and sponsor organizations. Our comprehensive clinical expertise, innovative approach and high quality are demonstrated by fostering relationships through integrity, teamwork, and excellent customer service.

Vision:
The vision of Clinical Research Services is to be a leading investigative site contributing to the research of groundbreaking medication and future technologies by ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and dependability. This vision supports continuing research endeavors with numerous sponsors, physician investigators, and clinical research organizations.

Clinical Research Experience

Clinical Research Services has been involved in clinical research since 1987. Our professional staff has over 200 years of combined experience in clinical trials.

Our involvement in inpatient and outpatient phase II-IV clinical and device research studies have contributed substantially to the development of new drugs and treatments for the following conditions:

Our clinical research team is committed to providing:

• Rapid study start-up
• Pro-active patient enrollment
• Clean data submission
• Highly experienced principal investigators
• Initial training and continuing education for all support personnel

Our reputation for accuracy, timeliness, and dependability stands above the rest as evident by our repeated research endeavors with SPONSORS and CRO’S such as:

CLINICAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS:

Facility Description

Clinical Research Services offers a professional atmosphere for our research patients and monitors. We are also equipped with a patient waiting room, complete exam rooms, a phlebotomy station with processing capabilities, and a secured area for investigational drug storage. We provide a dedicated room for our monitors complete with phone and computer accessibility. This room has its own separate access so that our monitors can work even when our main office is closed. We also provide wireless internet access.

As a department within St. Alexius Medical Center, a Level II Trauma Center with 308 beds, Clinical Research Services is centered among St. Alexius multi-specialty clinics which include; Neonatology, Nephrology, Pediatric Neurology, Neuro-surgery, Physical Medicine, Rheumatology, Urology, and Heart & Lung clinic.

The medical complex is equipped with CT, PET scan, MRI, Hologic DEXA scanners, a state-of-the-art radiotherapy Cancer Care Center, an accredited sleep laboratory, an outpatient hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis center, and regional laboratory services. It also offers full electrophysiologic and interventional cardiology labs.

Clinical Research Services is also easily accessible by public transportation. We are only 10 minutes from Bismarck International Airport, which is serviced by several major airlines.

Investigator Experience

• Bilal Ahmed, MD
  Area of Expertise: Endocrinology
• Jeffrey Orchard, MD
  Area of Expertise: Family Medicine
• Shelly Seifert, MD
  Area of Expertise: Family Medicine
• Shelley Killen, MD
  Area of Expertise: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Steven Scherr, MD
  Area of Expertise: Family Medicine
• Robert Tanous, DO
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Earl Dunnigan, MD
  Area of Expertise: Nephrology
• Ralph T. Dunnigan, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurology
• Syed Hyder, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurology
• Chatree Wongjirad, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurology
• John Witt, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Jerry Obritsch, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Shannon Bradley, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Jan Bury, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Thomas Hutchens, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Rhonda Rae Schafer-McLean, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Marissa Ann Wisdom, MD
  Area of Expertise: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Carla Zacher, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pediatrics
• Kathryn Obregon, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pediatrics
• Siriwan Kriengkrairut, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pediatric Neurology
• Somsak Kriengkrairut, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pulmonology
• Monica Paulo, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pulmonology
• Nowarat Songsiridej, MD
  Area of Expertise: Rheumatology
• Stan T. Diede, MD
  Area of Expertise: Cardiovascular Diseases, Internal Medicine
• Keith R. Happel, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Paul E. Jondahl, MD
  Area of Expertise; Family Practice
• Mustafa Kathawala, MD
  Area of Expertise: Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine
• Julie M. Schwartz, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Craig Degree, PhD
  Area of Expertise: Psychology
• Brian J. Hebert, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Robert G. Oatfield, MD
  Area of Expertise: Cardiology
• Richard Arazi, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurology
• Vijay Phooshkooru Rao, MD
  Area of Expertise: Oncology
• Jayaram Subbarao Bharadwaj, MD
  Area of Expertise: Oncology
• Nicholas Henry Neumann, MD, MMM, FACP,FCP, CHE
  Area of Expertise: Pulmonology
• Jeffrey Eugene Hostetter, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Michael Ray Brown, MD, PhD, FACS
  Area of Expertise: Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Michael Booth, MD, PhD
  Area of Expertise: Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Kevin Robert Dahmen, MD
  Area of Expertise: Pediatric Psychiatry
• Steven Douglas Spotts, MD
  Area of Expertise: Otolarynology
• Troy Darin Pierce, MD, MS
  Area of Expertise: Orthopedics
• Duncan Blaine Ackerman, MD
  Area of Expertise: Orthopedics
• Leslie Mark Rainwater, MD, FACS
  Area of Expertise: Urology
• Eric Belanger, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurosurgery
• Donald Howard Grenz, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• John David Botsford, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• FEK Addo, MD
  Area of Expertise: Oncology
• Supha Kijpttayarit Arthurs, MD
  Area of Expertise: Infectious Disease
• David Harold Larsen, DO
  Area of Expertise: Orthopedics
• Timothy John Bopp, MD
  Area of Expertise: Orthopedics
• John Morgan Watkins, MD
  Area of Expertise: Radiation Oncology
• Tarek Dufan, MD
  Area of Expertise: Radiation Oncology
• Kurt Gerard Datz, DO
  Internal Medicine
• Chia (Kelvin) Chun Hsu, MD
  Area of Expertise: Internal Medicine
• Farhan Tariq, MD
  Area of Expertise: Neurology
• Michelle Mjelstad Maier, APRN, BC
• Tanya Patzer Guthmiller, FNP
• Heather Jacobsen Bauer, RN, FNP
• Cammy Schafer Olson, MSN, FNP-C
• Carol Koenig Miller, RN, FNP

Staff Expertise

Dan McPherson, PharmD, BCNSP
Area of Expertise: Cardiology/Critical Care/Nutrition
26 years experience in clinical research

Deb McPherson, PharmD, BCNSP
Area of Expertise: Pediatrics/Neonatal Intensive Care/Nutrition
26 years experience in clinical research

Dawn Mayer, PharmD
Area of Expertise: Anticoagulation Services
14 years experience in clinical research

Joan Johnson, RPh
Area of Expertise: Oncology/Hospice
31 years experience in clinical research

Kenton Omvig, PharmD
Area of Expertise: Geriatrics/General Practice
20 years experience in clinical research

Carrie Sorenson, PharmD
Area of Expertise: Surgery/Infectious Disease
14 years experience in clinical research

Julie Wetzstein, CCRC
15 years experience in clinical research

Ross Frohlich, CCRC
8 years experience in clinical research

Nicole Gerjets, Research Assistant
5 years experience in clinical research

Mindy Sturn, Business Development & Regulatory Specialist
6 years experience in clinical research

Joan Galbraith, BS, RPh, Pharmacy Quality and Clinical Research Manager
2 years experience in clinical research

Patient Demographics

Characteristics of our patients include prominent northern European and Native American populations. We also have the largest per capita diabetes population in the nation. Our service area encompasses central, eastern, and western North Dakota, northern South Dakota, eastern Montana, and western Minnesota. This area is made up of a population of approximately 400,000 individuals.

Other Information

Clinical Research Services has the option of using our own local Institutional Review Board or a Central IRB for clinical trials.

Our department personnel have experience in using Remote Data Entry.

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.