The Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center (AEMRC) created in 1990 is one of eight centers of excellence at The University of Arizona College of Medicine and is the research and education arm of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Our mission is through research and education to improve the care of patients with emergent problems whether in the Emergency Department or in the field.
Our areas of research are diverse and range from basic research to the application of new clinical procedures. The Center has three primary research foci that include:
The Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center has a long history of developing and offering high quality, local, national and international educational programs. The Paramedic Training Program began in 1977 and is a well respected regional program with graduates in all the major paramedic systems in the State of Arizona.
In 1994 Center faculty members (Frank Walter, MD and Harvey Meislin, MD) developed an extensive educational program to train medical professionals involved in hazmat incidents. This program was based on the initial work of Michael Vance, MD, and has evolved to become the premier educational program in this area both nationally and internationally.
The AEMRC has always been the research arm of the Department of Emergency Medicine and, in the early years of its development, the focus was on pre-hospital research and translational research with a clinical Emergency Departments emphasis. With the transition in 2001 to a full College of Medicine department, Dr. Meislin as Department Head and Director of AEMRC established the goal of enhancing the research and academic structure of the Center. This process gained emphasis in 2003 when Ben Munger, PhD, became Associate Head for Research and Associate Director of AEMRC. In 2005, Kurt Denninghoff, MD, joined the Department and Center as Clinical Director of Research.
The Center presently has an annual grant submission rate exceeding $15 million, has received its first NIH award, and has actively involved a significant proportion of the faculty members in its research activities. In addition to the direct grant activity, the Center has developed collaborative relationships with many departments in the College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, universities in the region, major hospital systems in Arizona, and many of the regional rural hospitals serving the diverse populations in this state.
It is the goal of the Center to become one of the premier Emergency Medicine research institutions in the United States. We believe that this will significantly enhance the opportunities for faculty, residents, and students associated with Emergency Medicine at The University of Arizona.