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Abstract
The Office of the Dean of Research and Graduate Education at Georgetown University Medical Center has developed integrated, cross-platform database software to meet the institution's administrative and regulatory requirements. This userfriendly software, named Georgetown MedNetwork, has proven valuable in identifying research opportunities, helping to recruit faculty, facilitating development and establishment of program project grants, preparing grant applications, and administering interdisciplinary graduate programs. The MedNetwork's ability to serve as a front end to larger database systems and import information from existing legacy databases demonstrates a functional model for creating cost-effective, easily maintained research administrative computer systems. Report and search functions from multiple databases can be combined with Internet client software to create an easy method for storing and publishing data in both text and graphic form. The system has been helpful in orienting new faculty and students about research and teaching activities at GUMC.
Introduction
In 1991, a new Office of the Dean of Research and Graduate Education (ODRGE) was established at Georgetown University Medical Center to supervise all activities related to research and graduate biomedical education. Responsibilities include preaward grants management ($100+ million awarded in FY94); regulatory committee oversight (Animal Care and Use, Institutional Review Board, and Biosafety); technology transfer; environmental health and safety; research space allocation; and the Research Resources Facility (including all animal research facilities). Educational oversight includes the MD/PhD program and master's and doctoral degree programs. ODRGE also manages and oversees the Continuing Professional Education and Consulting Biostatistics offices.
Essential to the successful functioning of an office of this size and complexity is the availability of integrated information tools to meet highly diverse administrative tasks. Input from the dean, associate deans, and administrative staff was used to establish a design blueprint, or "wish list," of features to be incorporated into a proposed database system. The defined needs included the ability to search and summarize basic and biographical faculty information, publications, regulatory committee protocols, laboratory profiles, and funding award information. Moreover, the search capabilities required highly relational, cross-platform data and graphic fields that would be accessible to users of both Macintosh and Windows-based systems. A search was initiated to determine which existing integrated databases could meet the defined needs. This search-conducted via surveys of GU's existing information technology, commercial...