Please use the NNE-CTR grant citation below whenever you use Research Navigation or MaineHealth REDCap resources for all abstracts and manuscripts resulting from work we supported:
This work was supported in part by the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research grant U54GM115516.

We can help you navigate your research project.

Complete an Initial Request form
Guide for MaineHealth Clinical & Translational Investigators
MaineHealth Investigator Training Program

Conceptualize the Research

Research question/hypothesis

Direct appropriate resources

Evaluate literature summary

Encourage innovative brainstorming

Help to identify potential mentors & collaborators

Identify sources of existing data

Funding and Grants

Advice on potential funding sources

Assistance with grant applications

Research Study Design

Protocol & timeline development

Database development

Measurement identification & development

Assembling a research team

Recruiting human subjects

IRB application

Sample size calculations

Conduct Research

Create randomization scheme

Data collection and document consulting

Progress report assistance

Advice on study logistics

Analyze Research Results

Statistical support / consult

Statistical software
(SPSS and Stata) are available at the MMC Bramhall Library

Publish Research Results

Manuscript preparation

Presentation preparation

Conference abstract submission

MEET THE TEAM

Emmaline Ashe, MPH
Emmaline Ashe, MPHResearch Navigator
Emmaline primarily assists Ms. Williams with REDCap administration, and supporting new users of REDCap. She is a navigation generalist and also monitors and triages all the requests for Research Navigation assistance coming to the online Research Navigation Request form.
Wendy Craig, PhD
Wendy Craig, PhDResearch Navigator
Wendy works primarily with clinical staff to provide assistance to investigators conducting clinical and translational research studies. She facilitates, educates and supports researchers throughout all phases of clinical and translational research, including conceptualization, measurement development, research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and interpretation and dissemination of findings.

Research Interests
Risk factor identification and evaluation
Assay development and implementation
Clinical screening

Dr. Craig received a B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Bath, UK (1981), a Ph.D. in physiology from Stanford University (1986) and has a background that spans basic, clinical laboratory, and clinical research.

During her research career, Dr. Craig has acquired extensive experience in study development, design, implementation, analysis, and publication. She has also developed experience in and a passion for education. As a Research Navigator, Dr. Craig is responsible for supporting and mentoring investigators at all stages in the research pathway.

Her goal is to reduce the logistic barriers to research in all departments at MMC, with a focus on implementing a systematic program to guide new investigators thorough the intellectual, practical and regulatory processes that must occur before data collection begins.

Melissa Graham, RN, CCRC
Melissa Graham, RN, CCRCResearch Navigator & Clinical Regulatory Specialist
Melissa assists NNE-CTR investigators and clinical staff with the regulatory and logistical aspects of protocol development in advance of IRB submission. She provides guidance and support from draft through to IRB approval. Ms. Graham is experienced in clinical trials, the IRB and regulatory processes, and is our CTR liaison to the Office of Research Compliance and the IRB.

Melissa provides consultative services, training, and research compliance guidance to faculty, trainees, and other staff engaged in human subjects research. All services provided are tailored to specific needs of the project and the experience level of the requesting investigator.

Specific services include:

  • IRB Submission Consult: This services provides a limited document review to provide researchers with guidance to facilitate IRB submissions (e.g., necessary forms and attachments).
  • IRB Submission Assistance: This service provides hands-on assistance with research projects in the form of in-depth submission ‘pre-review’. This service may include drafting, editing, reconciling, finalization of documents, and/or preparation of IRB submission packages.
  • IRB Training Consult: This service provides new staff, residents, and students with an orientation to IRB training requirements. Education, hands-on assistance, and problem resolution will be provided regarding the use of the CITI Program and the IRBNet regulatory submission websites.

Melissa is an experienced RN who has worked clinically, and as a research coordinator, in the areas of adult and pediatric cardiology. She has worked in the settings of private practice, community hospitals, and at the NIH Clinical Center and in Bethesda, MD. Melissa joined MHIR in 2011 and has experience working as a clinical trials Project Manager (oncology, pulmonary, and pediatrics) and in the Office of Research Compliance.

Paige Ahrens, MS, CCRC
Paige Ahrens, MS, CCRCResearch Navigator
Paige is a Research Navigator specializing in Translational Science. She primarily works with the investigators at MHIR to help develop their bench science into research involving humans. She has seven years of wet lab research from the University of Central Florida Medical School and Johns Hopkins University. She also runs the NNE-CTR Research Studio program; a program designed to assist investigators across all of MaineHealth with any research question they have providing a panel of experts to assist them.
Amanda Lessard, PhD
Amanda Lessard, PhDResearch Navigator, Acute Care Research & Rural Disparities COBRE
Dr. Lessard is Research Navigator for the Acute Care COBRE’s Community Engagement, Bioethics, and Outreach Core (CEBO) to help investigators develop their research ideas into workable protocols, assisting with compliance for human subjects’ research or data analysis and dissemination of their findings. Additionally, her work with CEBO includes development of a Community Engaged Research program within MaineHealth that will bridge a collaboration between the research community and the Maine communities we serve.

Dr. Lessard has had a diverse research background with a focus around Cell and Molecular Biology. Her career started with post-baccalaureate training in the Genomics Unit at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, a satellite campus for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health. She returned to Maine as a research technologist at MHIR before joining the University of Maine Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering. Her PhD was completed within Dr. Pradeep Sathyanarayana’s laboratory at MHIR and went on to expand her research interests and joined Dr. Sawyer’s laboratory with a strong interest in the field of Cardio-Oncology.

Kimberly Murray, MPP
Kimberly Murray, MPPData Analyst
Kim has 25 years of experience in health services research (17 years at MMC) as a data analyst at MMC and is the lead data analyst for BERD Core at MH. She will continue to provide analytic support to Pilot Project awardees, and other clinical investigators. She has been participating in our N3C project analyses, working primarily on investigations of various treatments for COVID-19. She is well-versed in the data structures and analytic tools in the N3C Enclave and will continue this work in the next phase of the NNE-CTR.

Deanna Williams, BA
Deanna Williams, BAResearch Navigator
Deanna is a data visualization expert and our REDCap Manager who is responsible for the front-end administration of our relatively recently launched REDCap environment. In addition, she creates new accounts for investigators, helps orient new users to REDCap, and troubleshoots administrative issues with the platform.

Deanna primarily provides support with database creation and database management (e.g., REDCap). Deanna has been responsible for various aspects of research coordination, data collection, database design, database management, and reporting solutions as well as website design and development. Deanna has been a Database Manager for several multi-center projects. Previously, Deanna was a Research Coordinator and Database Manager for the Early Detection, Intervention, and Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP), a multi-center study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She has since joined the Autism and Developmental Disorders Inpatient Research Collaborative (ADDIRC) as the multisite Data Coordinator; as well as supported the launch of the International Cardiac Arrest Registry (INTCAR 3.0) and served as the Communications Coordinator for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) research contract.

Complete an Initial Request form
Guide for MaineHealth Clinical & Translational Investigators

509 Forest Avenue, Suite 200
Portland, Maine 04101

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