Miller helps organize The UTHealth COVID-19 Center of Excellence research arm
Professor for the Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery Department at McGovern Medical School, Charles “Trey” Miller, PhD, is at the forefront of UTHealth’s COVID-19 research response. As of recent, he now lends his expertise to coordinate and organize research efforts for The UTHealth COVID-19 Center of Excellence. The Center was established to give patients access to the best clinical care, research trials, discovery science, and public health knowledge. Miller serves as associate vice president for clinical research and health care quality, associate dean for hospital quality initiatives, and director of the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine; roles that exceedingly qualify him for the job of overseeing the University’s COVID-19 research. In collaboration with leaders from the School of Biomedical Informatics, including associate dean for applied informatics and associate professor, and Robert Murphy, MD and associate dean for research and The Reynolds and Reynolds Professor in Clinical Informatics, Elmer Bernstam, MD, MSE, the team have formulated a method to gather large data sets from patients that have been tested for COVID-19, to evaluate all clinical aspects of the virus. The results of their work will be a source of informative updates for local and state officials.
The UTHealth COVID-19 Center of Excellence has dedicated research groups, each focusing on a full spectrum of the impacts of COVID-19, including, community and public health, clinical trials, translational research, as well as behavioral health, and uncovering molecular pathways to validate treatments for acute and chronic inflammation and tissue damage associated with the virus. In a recent interview for Inside UTHealth, available to all UTHealth employees, Miller explains, “There are three components to this research. The first is the core research arm of the center which serves the hospital and health care components by providing a collection of data in clinical practices at UTHealth, numbers related to COVID-19 diagnosis treatment in clinical care, and analyzes initial research in that area. The programs led by Drs. Murphy and Bernstam serve as the core of this effort.”
Additional information about the COVID-19 Center of Excellence is available on the UTHealth website, as well as details for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic, available on the UT Physicians website.
-Caliann Ferguson