About The Research Institute

Cooper University Hospital researchers conduct about 340 NIH, industry-sponsored and investigator-Initiated clinical trials each year. Many of these studies are only available in South Jersey at Cooper. The Cooper Research Institute, established in January 2003, coordinates clinical trials and supports researchers at Cooper.

Through basic and clinical research, faculty at Cooper University Hospital are working with the NIH and Pharmaceutical companies to bring new and improved cutting-edge treatments to thousands of patients in South Jersey in fields such as cancer, cardiology, critical care, diabetes, and gene therapy.

Cooper University Hospital is the clinical and core teaching hospital for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The Faculty now holds approximately 15 NIH and federal grants and nearly $26MM in aggregate research funding, making it number one among the Regional Medical Campuses in the country.

Notable grants to Cooper researchers include:

  • About The Research InstituteAn NIH grant to study the use of a new type of MRI called Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI), in prostate radioactive seed therapy with Stephen DiBiase, MD, as the principal investigator. Cooper is the only site in the country for this study.
  • A GlaxoSmithKline grant in critical care with Phillip Dellinger, MD, and Joseph Parrillo, MD, to evaluate how well a new phospholipid-rich emulsion works in stopping the progression of sepsis (severe infections).
  • The renewal of Dr. Paola Leone’s NIH grant to study Canavan Disease brings hope to children who travel to Cooper, the only hospital in the world providing gene therapy for this genetic disease. This is the first clinical gene therapy study ever funded by the NIH.
  • An NIH study to try to prevent major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus through tight control of blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and lipids (fats in the bloodstream), with Arnaud Bastien, MD, and Ghada Haddad, MD, as co-investigators.
  • A study to reverse cardiogenic shock through an infusion of an inhibiting medication that blocks the production of nitric oxide, led by Steven Hollenberg, MD, and Joseph Parrillo, MD.
  • An NIH study to find out if using an automatic external defibrillator, (AED), in a patient’s home lowers the death rate in patients who have another heart attack. Lawrence Gessman, MD, is the principal investigator at Cooper.
  • An NIH Emergency Department study of patients who smoke and the decision for smoking cessation, under the direction of Ed Boudreaux, MD.

Past research by Cooper faculty has led to new standards of care and novel therapies in fields such as cancer, cardiology, surgery, and orthopaedics. For example, Cooper faculty members have conducted studies that led to:

  • New cancer treatments such as Rituxan for lymphoma, Iressa for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, Tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer, and Cisplatin plus radiation therapy for cervical cancer.
  • New joint replacements, such as ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) hip replacements. CoC hip replacements appear to be the most durable implants available.
  • A new mechanical heart valve, the ONYX mechanical heart valve, whose unique design results in the formation of fewer blood clots than with other artificial valves.
  • A new surgical adhesive, BioGlue®, which is widely used in cardiothoracic surgery as an adjunct to standard methods of achieving hemostasis in adult patients with open surgical repair of large vessels.
  • New cardiology medications, such as ReoPro, the first GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor, which reduces cardiac ischemic complications associated with percutaneous coronary intervention. ReoPro is the gold standard among GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors.