Clinical and Translational Research Services (CTRS) Core:
The CTRS Core is dedicated to assisting UW NORC Affiliate Investigators in all aspects of conduct of human studies of obesity, nutrition, and metabolism. Our faculty provide no-cost consultation and expertise for all phases of research including grant preparation, study design, study execution, and statistical analysis. Core services can be accessed at reduced cost for NORC Affiliate Investigators. Services include measurement of body composition by DXA and specialized MRI measures of hepatic fat or brain structure. General support for study implementation such as phlebotomy, physical examinations, and research study coordination is also available. Finally, a fully staffed nutrition kitchen for meal planning and preparation as well as a nationally-recognized nutrition assessment resource can be accessed through the UW NORC.
Contact CTRS Core Director Dr. Ellen Schur (ellschur@uw.edu) with questions or complete a request for services:
Services include:
Study Implementation
- Phlebotomy
- Sample processing
- IV placement
- Physical examination
- Research nursing
- Research study coordination
- Biostatistical analysis
Imaging
- Body composition or bone mineral content by DXA
- Hepatic fat by MRI
- Visceral and abdominal subcutaneous fat by MRI
- Quantitative T2 brain imaging
Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Menu design
- Meal transport (FH to UWMC, SLU, HMC locations)
- Nutrition assessment consultation
- ASA-24 dietary recalls
- Handheld indirect calorimetry
- Meal preparation
- Dietary recalls
- Food frequency questionnaire
- Food records
- Exercise training
- Exercise testing
- Indirect calorimetry by metabolic cart
Members of the NORC CTRS Core:

Ellen Schur, MD, MS
Core Director
Contact: ellschur@uw.edu

Johanna Lampe, PhD, RD
Associate Core Director
Contact: jlampe@fhcrc.org

Marian Neuhouser, PhD, RD
Assistant Core Director
Contact: mneuhous@fredhutch.org

Niranjan Balu, PhD
Assistant Core Director
Contact: ninja@uw.edu

Susan Melhorn, PhD
Research Scientist
Contact: smelhorn@uw.edu

Elaine Adams, RN, MA
Research Nurse
Contact: jeadamsj@uw.edu

Ghada Abdalla
Clinical Research Coordinator-II

Robyn Fahlstrom, MPH, RN
Research Coordinator