Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC)

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information on what we do, please please go to What We Provide. For more information on how we work, please go to Working With AHRC.

We have prepared answers to some frequently asked questions. We hope that this information is helpful.

  • What is the AHRC?
    • The Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC) is a full service, academic, clinical trials coordination centre. It delivers a comprehensive range of services including biostatics, finance, contract management, monitoring, and industry-leading IT that ensure trial quality, efficiency, and confidence. AHRC supports multi-centered trials of varying size across a broad range of therapeutic areas. It supports registries, as well as observational and epidemiological studies, qualitative research, health policy research, and health economics.
  • Who is the AHRC?
    • The AHRC is a team of leading scientists, researchers, doctors, and operational experts in trials design, conduct and outcomes dissemination. It provides access to world-class expertise and analysis. They facilitate discovery by managing trials that deliver results reflecting the highest standards of quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.
  • Where is the AHRC?
    • The AHRC is located at 193 Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8
      Tel: 416 864-3037
      Fax: 416 864-3014
  • What services does the AHRC offer?
    • The AHRC delivers a comprehensive range of services including trial design, project management and review, data management, site relationships and selection, feasibility, clinical events review, statistical analyses, publications assistance, training, monitoring, pharmacy and drug product management. For more information, refer to What We Provide.
  • What types of research does the AHRC support?
    1. Multicentre randomized clinical trials
    2. Observational Epidemiology
      1. Prospective patient registries / databases
      2. Retrospective database study design and analysis
    3. Biostatistical analysis (e.g. pragmatic trials, adaptive designs)
    4. Qualitative Research
    5. Health Economics
  • What is your therapeutic specialty?
    • We work across a broad range of therapeutic areas. Our methodological expertise is applied to design high quality research studies and our operational engine ensures efficient implementation. You (and your collaborators) provide the clinical scientific expertise.

      For commercial partners, our extensive links with leading clinician scientists across the University of Toronto community brings the scientific and clinical leadership required for any study.
  • What don’t we offer?
    1. We don’t manage sites and their work on a day-to-day basis. We provide an oversight role in this area.
    2. We don’t coordinate Phase I studies but can link researchers with others that handle Phase I studies.
    3. We rarely work on single site studies. It’s not cost effective for you to have AHRC involved.
    4. We don’t hire people to build your research team.
    5. We don’t hire people to work at the research sites but can assist in this process.
    6. We don’t do grant applications. However, we can help in relevant portions of the grant writing. For more information, review our Grant Writing section.
    7. We don’t manage the REB process at individual research sites; we do support you by providing template documents.
  • What about getting me funding?
    • AHRC does not specifically fund studies or write grant applications but we can connect you with funders including sponsors, government, granting agencies, and industry. We can talk more about this when we meet.
  • How do I find out more?
  • What is your relationship with St Michael's and the University of Toronto?
    • Our relationships with St. Michael's and the University of Toronto are valuable to our partners. They underscore the credibility of what the AHRC provides, and enables us to offer access to resources not otherwise available.
  • Is AHRC a CRO or an ARO?
    • The AHRC is a full service ARO (academic research organization) that supports the needs of the academic and commercial research communities. A CRO is a contract research organization that, typically, supports commercial research.
  • Who Receives Acknowledgement?
    • The AHRC facilitates partners’ discovery but does not own it. We help our partners achieve the recognition they deserve.
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