Morehouse School of Medicine

Based in Atlanta, Morehouse School of Medicine has been recognized as a top institution among U.S. medical schools for achieving a social mission. Its physicians provide care for cancer patients through Morehouse Healthcare. MSM’s own Clinical Research Center also provides the key infrastructure necessary for physicians to conduct clinical and other research. 

MSM’s mission includes improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities, with a particular emphasis on people of color and the underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia, the nation and the world. As such, MSM served as an original partner to help establish the Georgia CaRES program.

 

Principal Investigator

Roland Matthews, MD

Roland Matthews, MD is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Morehouse School of Medicine and serves as director of The Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady. He was named a Distinguished Cancer Scholar by the Georgia Cancer Coalition in 2004. After graduating from Columbia College, Matthews earned his M.D. degree, with a distinction in research, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Matthews’ research interests include pre-invasive gynecologic malignancies, uterine, ovarian and cervical cancers. He is the author of several publications on pre-invasive disease and gynecologic cancers. Throughout his career as an investigator, clinician and educator, Matthews has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to improving women's health in underserved communities.

 

Counties Served

 

 

* With referrals from other surrounding counties 

Morehouse School of Medicine Clinical Research Center

Led by Elizabeth Ofili, MD, FACC, the Clinical Research Center was founded in 1996 and is the first freestanding outpatient research facility of its kind in the United States to receive accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

With the patient population served by MSM and its community-based affiliates being predominantly African-American, the CRC is in the privileged position of being a major resource in including minority and underserved patients in clinical studies.

The MSM CRC organizes a wide variety of outreach programs in minority communities to involve qualified patients in clinical studies. For example, the MSM CRC Community Advisory Board brings together community leaders, has strengthened community interactions and has enhanced recruitment efforts. The CRC also improves access for community-based practices that typically do not become involved in clinical research through:

• Community Physicians Network. This practice-based consortium has grown to a diverse group of 150 primary care practices, subspecialty and surgical practices with over 350,000 annual outpatient visits throughout metro-Atlanta, Macon and Columbus. Georgia.
• Mobile Clinical Research Vehicle. This 38 ft. self-contained, handicap accessible, mobile research facility allows MSM researchers to reach people in rural areas and those unable to come to the center, along with diverse populations and visitors to various Atlanta venues to become a part of clinical research, as well as learn about various health disparities that still plague our communities and will extend their research excellences.

Morehouse Healthcare

Since 1985, Morehouse Healthcare has provided quality medical care to diverse populations throughout Georgia.

It offers one of the state’s largest physician groups as well as a breadth of cancer subspecialists, including medical oncologists, pediatric oncologists, surgical oncologists and gynecological oncologists. Its focus includes all types of adult cancers, including colorectal, breast, soft tissue, endocrine, liver, pancreas as well as leukemia/lymphoma and other blood cancers, as well as pediatric cancers.

The cancer program has always included leading-edge clinical and basic science research to advance the fight against these diseases, particularly in underserved populations. Morehouse Healthcare also offers genetic testing and counseling for patients.