VCU researchers launch 'PITT Stop' to help clinical investigators beat administrative bottlenecks

By Christopher Richmond

When Richard K. Sterling, M.D., professor of hepatology and assistant dean of clinical research at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, first set out to lead clinical trials early in his career, he faced a steep learning curve.

"I was a clinical investigator who was trying to understand all the steps that were required," Sterling said, jokingly referring to himself as a "peon" at that stage in his career. "When I was a peon and I wanted to be a PI, what was going to be expected of me? What were all the things that had to be accomplished so that I can be successful, that the project can be successful, that I can remain compliant?"

When Sterling, now the chief clinical officer at VCU's Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, sought guidance from colleagues early in his career, he realized that even experienced investigators lacked clear answers for every administrative requirement.

"Even seasoned people, when I said, 'How do you do this?' their response was, 'I don't know,'" Sterling said. "And so I thought, 'Well, okay, well who does know? And why isn't there a single tool out there, or list of tools, or place that I can go to to figure out how to navigate each step of the process, from idea to completion of the study and subsequent dissemination of the information?'"

That question laid the groundwork for a new digital platform launching this month: Principal Investigator Training Tools, also known as PITT Stop. Developed collaboratively by Sterling and Jennifer Economy, the Wright Center's ClinicalTrials.gov administrator, PITT Stop provides a centralized, virtual educational hub designed to guide researchers through every phase of a trial or their research project.

The search for answers at 2 a.m.

In academic health centers, clinician-researchers frequently manage studies outside regular clinic hours.

"A lot of times at VCU I'll hear people - because these are all clinicians, for the most part, seeing clinic patients - and I'll hear someone say, 'Well, I was up at 2 o'clock in the morning, and I was trying to find this form, and I couldn't find it, and I was so frustrated,'" Economy said. "It would be nice to have one place to go to find all your forms."

Rather than duplicating official records, PITT Stop functions as a centralized directory. It provides direct pathways to essential templates, policies and guidelines maintained across the VCU Institutional Review Board website, the VCU Health intranet and the VCU School of Medicine Office of Research Administration.

Fueling innovation through pilot grants

The creation of PITT Stop was made possible through a $25,000 pilot award from the Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Funded under Virginia's only Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health, these 12-month pilot grants differ fundamentally from traditional biomedical research awards.

The PITT Stop proposal, funded in 2024, addresses a universal translational research challenge: reducing administrative friction and equipping investigators with the skills required to successfully manage clinical trials.

With this pilot funding, Sterling and Economy designed and built PITT Stop within an accessible Canvas course shell. Together, they organized instructional materials across 10 core operational domains, ranging from study protocol development and statistical analysis to ethical compliance, REDCap usage and community engagement.

Importantly, PITT Stop is designed to complement and not replace the mandatory administrative and financial PI training conducted by the Office of Sponsored Programs and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. While official institutional training covers regulatory compliance and fiscal oversight, PITT Stop provides the practical, day-to-day roadmap clinical teams need to execute study protocols smoothly.

Teaching researchers to fish

Rather than serving as a static archive, the modules offer self-paced instruction tailored for both beginner and experienced investigators.

"We're hoping it's the 'teach your person to fish, and they can eat for the rest of their life' philosophy," Sterling said.

Although structured around lead investigator responsibilities, the platform is designed to serve the broader clinical research workforce. Target learners include medical students, residents, fellows, clinical research coordinators and faculty across partnering regional institutions, including Old Dominion University, Virginia State University and the Richmond VA Medical Center.

"The audience for this isn't just PIs," Economy said. "It's anyone who's hit a barrier and they can't find the help and they're frustrated."

Fulfilling the CTSA mission

The initiative aligns directly with the national Clinical and Translational Science Award mission to streamline research operations and eliminate unnecessary silos.

By bringing together links to Office of Sponsored Programs guidelines, Institutional Review Board resources, and Wright Center consulting services into one structured Canvas environment, PITT Stop reinforces institutional compliance while making research administration more approachable. PITT Stop functions primarily as an educational clearinghouse, directing users who need tailored project assistance directly to expert staff consultations across VCU Health and the Wright Center.

PITT Stop was officially launched in conjunction with an Oct. 21 presentation by Sterling and Economy at a Clinical Research Town Hall hosted by the Wright Center and VCU Health. The project team plans to expand training modules for research coordinators and administrators and collaborate with institutional review boards to explore core training certifications for new investigators.

Researchers can access PITT Stop by visiting go.vcu.edu/pitt-stop.

This project was supported by a pilot award from the Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science, funded by NIH Award UM1TR004360 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent official views of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.