The centralized administrative core provides valuable sup-
port for the establishment and sustainment of research partner-
ships. This includes support for grand rounds presentations,
site visits by potential collaborators, and scienti
fic planning
meetings at MTF and VA sites.
Initiative-Launching Studies
The initiative-launching component contains a set of BADER
Consortium-funded clinical research studies aimed at launching
impactful clinical research initiatives in partnership with the
MTFs and VA sites. BADER-funded projects are awarded
via a peer-reviewed, limited competition award program open to
the BADER Consortium Af
filiates responding to a Consortium-
generated call for proposals. The proposals are scienti
fically
reviewed by the BADER RAC and ultimately selected by the
Consortium
’s Government Steering Committee. The goal of
these initiative-launching projects is to establish sustainable
multiteam system partnerships and generate clinically focused
results that advance patient care paradigms in critical patient
care gap areas. Furthermore, this BADER-supported program
is designed to provide necessary funding to propel new and
early-career scientists into independent researchers leading
sustainable research programs at MTF and VA sites. This
funding mechanism is also ideally suited for establishing a
technology translation pipeline, based on a multiteam system
model, by taking emerging technologies from Telemedicine
and Advanced Technology Research Center and DARPA
programs and rapidly transitioning the technology across
research activity category teams into clinical trials and patient
care paradigms (Fig. 2).
RESULTS
The BADER Consortium became operational in 2013 follow-
ing an initial 12-month
“discovery” phase. During that phase,
a total of eight CRC on-site research support staff were identi-
fied in collaboration with MTF staff, hired by UD, trained
and on-boarded at the MTFs. Development and testing of the
Consortium CRADA was completed on September 19, 2012.
Within four months of its implementation, six partner institu-
tions completed on-boarding to the Consortium CRADA. At
the time of this report, the BADER Consortium contains
nine industrial partners, eight government sites, 21 BADER-
supported employees (10 are stationed full time at MTF sites),
and 99 BADER-af
filiated experts located at academic research
sites across North America. Recently, a generic version of
the Consortium CRADA was provided to CDMRP of
ficials,
upon request, for use by other CDMRP-funded consortia.
By 2014, the BADER Consortium completed two rounds
of BADER-funded calls for proposals and identi
fied its eighth
BADER-funded clinical study. The earliest studies received
clearance from the USAMRMC Human Research Protection
Of
fice to begin study activities in June of 2013. The Adminis-
trative Core provided critical support for these activities by
coordinating efforts, in partnership with the EACE, to identify
research gap areas used to solicit proposals for BADER-
funded projects and assist with the scienti
fic review process.
Totaling $7.6 million in direct project funding, the eight
BADER-funded studies have a net planned enrollment greater
than 1,400 subjects.
Topic areas covered by BADER-funded projects and their
emerging team research initiatives include the following:
assessing new, clinically relevant research areas in DoD-
identi
fied critical gap areas to reduce the incidence of falls;
retraining to improve walking and running after amputation;
prescribing prosthetics for work and carrying heavy loads; and
determining the impact of robotic prosthetics on functional
outcome levels and QoL. Additional projects focus on
improving measures of functional outcomes and determining
the effectiveness of current rehabilitation care trajectories.
In addition to their assignments on BADER-funded research
projects, members of the CRC on-site staff have provided
support for 37 non-BADER-funded studies at MTF sites. The
nature of CRC staff contributions has been broad. Their
responsibilities have included completing literature reviews
in preparation of project presentations and publications;
recruiting human subjects; assisting with the preparation of
grant proposals; monitoring regulatory documents and pro-
cesses; engagement with clinical staff to promote systematic
outcomes assessment; loading research data into the PDMS;
and contributing to the evaluation and acquisition of labora-
tory equipment.
The Scienti
fic and Technical Cores demonstrated the capac-
ity to provide support for orthopaedic rehabilitation research.
The cores have supported BADER-funded research projects
and provided valuable support and expertise for research ideas
that become new research proposals and research areas. The
Biomechanics Core supported a multicenter CRSR project to
enhance data sharing. The Biostatistics Core provided statisti-
cal modeling support for seven external grant applications in
the fall of 2014. The Outcomes Core spearheaded two clinical
research initiatives and provided assistance to nearly all pro-
jects and grant proposals.
FIGURE 2.
Multiteam System Model indicating
five research activity
levels. Research initiative partnerships emerge from one or more collaborating
organizations at each level joining to form a multiteam research system to
address an identi
fied gap in patient care.
MILITARY MEDICINE, Vol. 181, November/December Supplement 2016
17
BADER Consortium: Partnering for Optimal Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Outcomes