A Research Manager Committed to Streamlined Investigations
At Cincinnati Children’s, the urology faculty are deeply committed to conducting clinical research. They tackle the complex questions needed to produce advanced treatments and improve patient outcomes. But their dedication to delivering the highest-quality clinical care often leaves them without adequate time for research. As a result, Strine says, worthy research often slows to a snail’s pace.
“Traditionally, our urology faculty conducted research projects by themselves or with residents and fellows as part of their training. But our faculty are busy, and they don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to research efforts,” Strine says. “Although we have clinical research coordinators, we needed someone to oversee and lead the research program.”
To overcome this obstacle, the division hired research fellow Cassie Hulme, PhD, MPH, to serve as research manager.
In this role, Hulme uses her background in epidemiology and research protocol design to support faculty efforts and assume the investigative workload they can’t carry.
Expanding Research and Smoothing the Institutional Review Board Process
To bring more faculty research to fruition, Strine and Hulme launched quarterly meetings where faculty, practitioners and staff involved in clinical investigations present and discuss a wide range of research ideas. Hulme says each meeting produces at least one new project.
Research efforts involving patients need Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. This is where Hulme steps in. She designs thorough protocols that fulfill IRB requirements. Additionally, she organizes the workflow for each project. For retrospective studies, she coordinates with the business office to collect patient data. Or, for prospective research, she partners with the division’s clinical research coordinator to gather resources needed for patient recruitment.
Thanks to Hulme’s efforts, the research program is more productive, Strine says.
“We are substantially busier than we were before, thanks to being more structured,” he says. “We’re on task, we’re providing more frequent updates and we’re making progress with these projects because we have better oversight.”
Today, the program boasts between 15 and 20 active projects.
“Our research project numbers are definitely growing,” Hulme says. “We’re doing it at a good pace, and we’re also making sure that we’re putting out meaningful, impactful work.”
Training Residents and Fellows for Future Research
The restructured program also improves research training for residents and fellows. Hulme teaches them about the IRB process and study designs, helping them create focused research projects.
“I help residents and fellows create strong research questions and show them how to write successful IRB protocols,” she says. “More importantly, we also have thought-provoking discussions that guide them toward study designs that are not only best for the department and the resources we have available, but that will also deliver the most meaningful output and best results.”
The division created a research idea form to fuel these conversations. Prospective researchers provide detailed information that’s required for a strong IRB proposal. Based on these forms, Strine and Hulme make recommendations to redirect or sharpen the focus of a proposed research question, boosting the likelihood of IRB approval. This training has a two-fold goal.
“By training our residents and fellows on how to do research and do it better, we’re laying the foundation for the future of urology investigations at Cincinnati Children’s,” she says. “But we’re also providing valuable guidance for our learners who go into hometown practice. It’s just as helpful to know how to read and critically appraise studies so you can make evidence-based clinical decisions for patients.”
Impact of Restructuring
Redesigning and streamlining the research program has prompted several positive changes, Strine says. Today, the highly efficient program encourages more people to get involved.
He says launching more studies has opened the door for greater participation in Cincinnati Children’s research. Patients and families are more engaged and excited to enroll in interventions that may lead to improved treatments and outcomes.
Multidisciplinary collaborations are also easier to maintain, Hulme says. As research manager, she attends meetings when faculty can’t, which advances progress and strengthens multi-center relationships.
Overall, she says, restructuring the research program has reinvigorated faculty and inspired them to pursue new investigative endeavors.
“Our faculty aren’t afraid to suggest research now because they know their concepts won’t stay in the idea phase,” Hulme says. “With this new structure in place, research moves really quickly out of the idea phase and into production.”
Learn more about research in the Division of Pediatric Urology.
(Published March 2026)
Read More from Urology
