Dr. Rebecca Jackson

Some of the most important research requires the cooperation of large numbers of people over extended periods of time.  Succeeding at this kind of research is complicated by the mobility of people over many years, and the difficulty in keeping them involved, in light of all the demands on time that crop up in individuals’ lives.  But some researchers have found a formula for success – and Dr. Rebecca Jackson is one of those.

Watch the complete video interview, click here.

The Women’s Health Initiative has been on-going for 15 years, and during its most active time, Dr. Jackson and her staff  maintained the involvement of some 5000 participants over a number of years – many still keep in touch.  Similarly, the Osteoarthritis Initiative has been studying some 1200 participants for more than 5 years.  The extraordinary planning and communications required to keep such people-intensive projects moving forward and with a full contingent of study subjects has prepared Dr. Jackson for her next big challenge.

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science was established in 2008 under the directorship of Dr. Jackson.  The purpose of the center is to promote the faster movement of research results to clinical patients (“translation”) – and that effort requires the participation and support of most of the colleges on the OSU campus in one way or another.  In addition to being one of the largest individual grants ever awarded to an OSU researcher, the CCTS promises to be among the most far-reaching as well.

A brief preview of the complete interview is also available (YouTube).