The Trudeau Institute, a Saranac Lake, N.Y.-based research center, has expanded the scope of its biomedical research by creating a nonprofit CRO, the Trudeau Institute Contract Research Organization (TICRO).

The expansion is in response to the drug development industry's increased reliance on CROs for specialty research in order to reduce the costs and delays associated with the development of new vaccines and therapeutics.

As experts in the immunological, biological and molecular basis of infectious diseases and immune disorders, Trudeau scientists will offer their expertise and models through TICRO. The new CRO will provide project-specific expertise to biopharmaceutical companies and academic researchers, assist clients with the design and execution of efficient studies with well-defined endpoints and help accelerate the drug development process. In offering contract research services, the Institute hopes to develop translational research partnerships with biotech and pharmaceutical companies and to help bring new therapeutics to patients safely and more efficiently.

Trudeau veteran Dr. Dawn Jelley-Gibbs has been appointed senior CRO program manager for TICRO and is working with the Institute's management team to develop and execute TICRO's scientific program.