A Dedicated University of Minnesota Research Resource at the Minnesota State Fair

Interim Report from Year 1

Ellen W. Demerath, Ph.D., EpiCH, SPH

Logan G. Spector, Ph.D., Pediatrics, Medicine

Heather H. Nelson, Ph.D., MCC, SPH

Mindy S. Kurzer, Ph.D., CFANS

Purpose and Vision for the Driven to Discover Building

• In response to the OVPR’s call for innovative proposals to increase the University’s research infrastructure, we proposed in 2012 to:– Establish the first dedicated research facility at a state fair

in the nation for on-site research in humans during the Fair, to increase the efficiency of recruiting large numbers of community members for University research projects

– Conduct a 2-year demonstration project to assess• Investigator interest• Rate of research subject enrollment• Potential for community engagement

• In a competitive selection process, we garnered space at the state fairgrounds and established a 10-year memorandum of understanding with the State Fair corporation.

• 5,000 ft2 property• 1600 ft2 building• Electrical and optic cable

upgrades• A paid research assistant for

each project• 40 iPads for data collection• Research space for 10 studies

at a time• Lease agreement gives access

to site year-round

Driven to Discover Building1367 Cosgrove Street

Highlights of the Driven to Discover Building Demonstration Project (Year 1: 2014)

Strong University Investigator Interest– 29 projects conducted, from 10 Different Schools and Colleges

• Med School: 7• UMD: 4• CLA: 4• SPH: 3• Joint Med/SPH: 2• Nursing: 2• CFANS: 2• CEHD: 2• Social Work: 1• Law: 1• Dental: 1

– High-Throughput Subject Enrollment• Large # of individuals entered the building

– ~30,000

• Total recruitment exceeded our expectations– > 9,000 enrolled

• Average rate: 8 subjects/hour/study

Investigator satisfaction with the D2D research experience

Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

22.7%

77.3%

And, on a scale of 0-100, the average willingness to return was

91.68

0 = Absolutely not100 = Absolutely

Quotes from Driven to Discover Researchers

This was an excellent experience for the students

because they had an opportunity to engage directly with subjects in ways that they

do not usually.

Please oh please let me conduct research at the fair again! It was

easy, fun, quick. I mean, how else can I get 220 participants in

under 12 hours?

The entire event was fantastic. It was run incredibly well, everyone was so helpful, and it was one of the best organized events I have

been part of. You guys made everything so easy for us!

Amanda was fantastic! Honestly, she was so thorough, detail oriented, and on top of everything that I felt like hugging

her the first time I met her in person.

Running my study in the D2D Building was a fantastic experience.

Not only did I exceed my recruitment goals, but I made a lot

of great connections with other researchers and members of the

community who were interested in my research.

A tremendous amount of coordination and planning

occurred by D2D staff which allowed us to arrive for our shifts and focus on

our project.

We were able to collect data from a broad

section of the State's rural population which

would have been difficult to do any other way.

“Using your usual methods of recruitment, how long would it have taken you to enroll the same number of research subjects

you enrolled at the Fair?”

9.1%

31.8%

4.5%13.6%

9.1%

9.1%

22.7%

Less than 1 month1-6 months7-11 months1 year1-3 yearsNot possible in another venueUnsure

Suggestions for Improvements fromDriven to Discover Researchers

Having air conditioning would be great!

I wish the other U of MN buildings on the state fair

grounds had better knowledge of the D2D

building.

The building was small and it leaked when it rained -- my wishful thinking is that the

university will acknowledge the importance of this building and

work with the state fair to expand.

We didn't realize the building would have uneven flooring which initially

created some difficulty with our gait mat but we were able to rearrange so the

mat was on even flooring.

Although we did not receive a D2D grant we appreciated the

opportunity to have our study in the D2D building. Wish there

were more funding opportunities.

It would be nice to have a more modern,

innovative building to match the innovation

behind our UMN research.

While the news stories during the fair were great, it would have been nice to have

more publicity prior to the fair.

Year 2 Goals (2015)

• Track Scientific Output of Users– Encourage papers, grant proposals

• Expand breadth of research– Currently most studies were AHC-based– More studies of children and youth

• Increase the number of studies and participants

Some Lessons Learned

• Types of studies– Those with narrow inclusion/exclusion criteria will not be

efficient

– Can recruit large numbers of particular groups (e.g., rural veterans, African American men) if the protocol is engaging and recruitment methods are pro-active

• Current building has important limitations– Small, no storage, and a maximum of 10 studies at a time

can be accommodated

– No water supply / field lab space

– NOT WEATHER PROOF (rain/indoor flooding caused problems)

Sustaining the Investment• Operating costs have been clarified

– Operating costs total $150,000/year, most of which is dedicated to personnel managing the scientific operation year-round, maintaining the facility, and costs of putting on the show (rental equipment, tickets, staff) in August

• The facility is still in a development phase, and will not be self-sustaining until investigators have time to line-item usage fees (e.g., $5,000 - $10,000 per year) in their grant proposals.

• D2D needs a pass-through business structure (i.e. ISO) and a longer-term commitment before NIH or other grants will come to fruition.

• A new building would increase the number of studies that can use the space, and raise the caliber of the science that can be conducted

Thank you

additional informational slides follow…..

Age Distribution of D2D Participants

0 to 9 10 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 59 60 to 69 70 to 79 80 and above0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

5.9%

18.6%

15.3%

10.4%

14.1%

18.1%

13.6%

3.6%

0.3%

Racial Comparison of Driven to Discover Participants to the 2013 Minnesota Census Data

American Indian Asian Black Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

White Multiracial Other0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

0.8%2.8%

7.2%

0.0%

85.9%

0.8%2.4%1.3%

4.5% 5.7%

0.1%

86.1%

2.3%0.0%

D2DMN 2013 Census

1.1%

9.0%

6.3%

16.4%

46.7%

20.4%

Education Level for Driven to Discover Participants over 18

Years of Age

Some High SchoolHigh School diploma or GEDAssociate's degreeSome collegeCollege degreeGraduate degree

2.0%

29.6%

30.7%

37.7%

Education Level for Minnesota State Fair Attendees

Some High SchoolHigh School diploma or GEDSome collegeCollege Degree or More

StudyFinder Kiosk and Website

• Debuted at MN State Fair, 2014• First-if-its-kind website and kiosk to facilitate public

involvement in U research• Features engaging video stories of research

participants • Mounted IPads allow users to browse for study

opportunities.

StudyFinder Kiosk and Website: MN State Fair 2014

• ~ 4,800 people reached by StudyFinder• ~ 1,065 user sessions on the StudyFinder• ~ 676 user sessions on personal computers

and devices• Website users increased after the State Fair as

compared to before the Fair by ~3 fold