In the current issue of ACRP's The Monitor, there is an interesting article regarding a different approach for monitoring federally-funded studies.  In an effort to reduce cost and increase efficiency in regards to monitoring federally-funded studies, groups such as the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) have been created.  The CCTRN was established by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) with the goals to “develop, coordinate, and simultaneously conduct multiple collaborate trials testing the effects of cell therapy in cardiovascular disease”.  The article states that there was a particular goal to assist in investigator-initiated studies.