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Overview

CHORD provides the infrastructure for patient-centered research, generation of new evidence, and evidence translation back into clinical practice. CHORD hosts several projects that translate patient priorities for research into patient-centered solutions that may improve quality of care and the health outcomes of patients. To date, CHORD has received over $11 million in support, including from PCORI, NIH, DOD, and the American Cancer Society. CHORD research scientists and staff have experience and expertise in patient and stakeholder engagement, research topic prioritization methodologies, qualitative and quantitative analyses, systematic reviews, comparative effectiveness research, translational research, implementation science, and dissemination. CHORD’s dedicated team of research coordinators have experience conducting large-scale multi-site randomized and observational cohort studies.

 

Active Research Initiatives

CISTO (The Comparison of Intravesical Therapy and Surgery as Treatment Options)

The nationwide study conducted by Dr. John L. Gore and Dr. Angela B. Smith

, has the potential to fill critical evidence gaps, change care pathways for the management of NMIBC (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer), and provide for personalized, patient-centered care. The purpose of CISTO is to conduct a large prospective study that directly compares the impact of medical management versus bladder removal in recurrent high-grade NMIBC patients with BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) failure on clinical outcomes and patient and caregiver experience using standardized patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

 

BACPAC (Black and African-Descent Collaborative for Prostate Cancer Action)

In the United States, Black and African-descent men are up to 80% more likely to develop prostate cancer and 120% more likely to die from prostate cancer. Led by Dr. Yaw Nyame, BACPAC

 is a community of patients, advocates, physicians, and researchers brought together with the mission of improving prostate cancer care for Black and African-descent men through community-based translational research. BACPAC is part of an overarching effort to perform translational research to address inequities in prostate cancer care and outcomes, with the goal of finding durable solutions that are also transferrable to other cancers at both the local and national levels.

 

Working at CHORD

Our open staff positions can be found on the UW jobs

page by searching for the keyword “CHORD”.

 

How we do our work is as important as the work itself. As a member of the CHORD team, we expect that you will participate in and support the following agreements based on the principles that guide our interactions with each other:

  1. We create a culture of appreciation. We take time to appreciate people’s work and efforts. We trust each other to do a good job and to ask each other for what we need to do so. We also set realistic work plans and timelines, incorporating adequate time for collaboration. We focus on responsiveness with empathy ― getting others what they need without creating an atmosphere of urgency.
  2. Improving the work is the work. We will identify opportunities for process improvement and put in place changes. This includes making time to ask for and provide suggestions. We recognize that mistakes are an opportunity to improve processes, tools, and knowledge. Feedback focuses on process, not personal behaviors or characteristics. 
  3. This is a flat team made up of individuals with different but equally important roles. We respect and value each member’s experience and expertise. We collaborate to achieve our goals. We focus on transparency and inclusion in decision-making. We are all leaders in various capacities. We define good leadership as developing the power and skills of others. 
  4. Avoiding conflict is not cooperation. When someone is expressing themselves, we try to understand their point. We sit with our own discomfort and do not take it personally. We understand that discomfort is the root of growth and learning.
  5. We work to combat our biases by being mindful in how we act, interpret the actions of others, form conclusions, and make decisions. Bias is prejudice or unsupported judgements in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another in a way that’s usually considered unfair. To reduce the impact of our biases, we focus on listening to each other, observing our own behaviors as well as those of others, and asking questions of ourselves and others to make considered and deliberate decisions.