In the last issue, I introduced two new clinical research tools in development, the Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS) and the Research Data Warehouse. In this issue, I would like to let you know about three e-tools that are already in operation and designed to make your research better and easier. The three e-tools are the USC Health Sciences Profiles, the Clinical Studies Directory and the Research Training Finder. These tools are the result of a collaboration between the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI), the USC Office of Research and Keck Medicine.

USC Health Sciences Profiles is an expertise discovery and research collaboration tool. You can use this tool to search for people working on a specific disease or in a specific area and see what they publish and with whom they collaborate. A new feature that makes it easy to find clinical trials experts at USC is described in a separate article written by Katja Reuter PhD in this issue of the Keck Research Quarterly. If you work in the Keck School (or one of several other health-related schools) you can log into USC Profiles to enhance your basic profile with information about you and your research program. (http://profiles.sc-ctsi.org/search/)

The Clinical Studies Directory features more than 300 active clinical studies at USC. Users can search for studies by disease, intervention, researcher and study location. You can use this tool to find studies for which your patient could qualify. You can also use it as a recruiting tool. For example, potential participants can be directed to the site through advertisements and they can use it to contact your study team in a HIPAA-compliant manner. The site information is updated daily with data feeds from clinicaltrials.gov and the USC True2 and IRB databases. The SC CTSI is working with CHLA to add their trials in the near future. The current site is in English, although the front pages are also available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. (http://clinicaltrials.keckmedicine.org/)

The Research Training Finder is designed to help researchers, staff members and trainees access the large body of courses available to help them do their jobs better and to meet the increasingly complex requirements for research compliance at USC. This tool lets you identify and link to required and suggested trainings based on your position and job responsibilities. (http://sc-ctsi.org/training-matrix/)

In addition to the direct links above, all of these tools can be accessed through the SC CTSI website (www.sc-ctsi.org). USC Profiles and the Clinical Studies Directory appear under the “Research Resources” tab; the Research Training Finder appears under the “Training and Education” tab. While you are on the CTSI site, check out all of the other resources available through the SC CTSI. Please let us know how the tools work for you by sending your feedback and ideas to info@sc-ctsi.org.

Many thanks to Katja Reuter and her team at the SC CTSI and to Silvia Da Costa PhD in the office of research for leading the effort to enhance the research environment at USC.