Director of the DCVA-CRU : Marc Blackman, MD
Associate Chief of Staff for Research & Development, Washington, DC VAMC
Assistant Dean for VA Research and Professor of Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine, GUMC
Dr. Blackman is an active clinician, teacher, researcher and administrator. While at Johns Hopkins, he employed clinical, translational and laboratory-based investigations to evaluate the effects of age-associated alterations in the growth hormone, gonadal and adrenal steroid axes on body composition, and endocrine-metabolic, cardiovascular, immunologic, musculoskeletal, and psychobehavioral functions in healthy and frail older persons. Dr. Blackman served as Chief, Endocrine Section, NCCAM, NIH, from April, 2001, until June, 2007.
During this time, he conducted research, and research training, related to the influences of diverse CAM modalities that might allay or attenuate the life “stressors” of musculoskeletal frailty, chronic pain, and cancer, particularly as they affect the elderly, including those who are underserved.
Dr. Blackman joined the Washington DC VAMC as the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development in June, 2007, where he facilitates and expands the varied clinical, translational and laboratory based research and research training programs within the DC VAMC, and with the VA’s academic partners, and further develops his own research programs. He is a member of numerous medical and scientific societies, and has served as a scientific consultant for various government, academic, industrial, and private organizations, including the National Advisory Committee for Endocrinology and Aging in the NIA’s Biology of Aging Program, and the Executive Committee of the GCRC’s National Program Directors Association. Dr. Blackman served (2010-2014) as a member of the NIH/NIA’s Aging Systems and Geriatrics Study Section, is a frequent national and international lecturer and consultant on neuroendocrinology and aging, has received numerous teaching and academic awards, and has published more than 400 journal articles, editorials, books, chapters, and abstracts.
Co-Director of PCI Programs, Program Director HU-CRU : Charles Howell, MD
Charles Howell, MD (co-PL) is a tenured professor and Director of the Viral Hepatitis Center in the Department of Medicine at the Howard University College of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Howell is a co-director of the GHUCCTS KL2 program and IDP advisor. He received the Doctor of Medicine degree from Howard University with many honors including induction into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at the Baylor College of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals in Houston, TX (1982-85) and a Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) in Denver, CO (1985-88). He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Dr. Howell has had a long-standing research interest in racial disparities in liver diseases, with a focus on chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and primary liver cancer. Under his leadership, the Viral Hepatitis Center strives to reduce the burden of hepatitis in the Washington metropolitan area through high-quality patient care, education, research, and community service. His research activity has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and private corporations. From 2000-2007, Howell chaired the Steering Committee for the study of viral resistance to antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C (VIRAHEP-C). He was one of eight principal investigators for this NIH-sponsored, multicenter study, which investigated the basis for the lower efficacy of interferon and ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C in African Americans compared to White Americans. He has been a site PI for many clinical trials, and has successful in recruiting racial and ethnic minority participants. From 2011-2013, he co-chaired the National Medical Association’s Task Force on Hepatitis C in African Americans.
Dr. Howell has published more than 70 journal articles, book chapters and reviews, and is recognized nationally for his medical expertise and research accomplishments. In addition, he has been a frequent lecturer at national meetings. Furthermore, he has mentored more than 40 students, residents, fellows and junior faculty members during his career. This includes 8 years of service on the University of Maryland Baltimore’s (UMB) Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Development (K12) Advisory Committee and 9 years as Leader of the Clinical and Translational Science Track of the Gastrointestinal Research Training (T32) Program. As Department of Medicine chair from 2014-2018, Dr. Howell oversaw career development for many junior faculty members. He is a fellow of American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), and American College of Physicians, and is a member of the Association for Academic Minority Physicians. Dr. Howell has served on many medical society committees, and previously chaired the AGA Committee on Under-represented Minorities, the AASLD Public Policy Committee and the AASLD Diversity Committee. He has served on numerous National Institutes of Health study sections and several editorial boards.
Co-Director of PCI Programs, Program Director GU-CRU : Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD
Dr. Jonklaas is currently a professor in the endocrinology division at Georgetown University. Dr. Jonklaas obtained her MD, residency, and fellowship training at Georgetown University. Her area of interest, both with respect to research and patient care, is the management of thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism.
Dr. Jonklaas has published research regarding treatment and outcomes in patients with thyroid cancer and therapy for hypothyroidism. She is involved in translational research, particularly regarding biomarkers of thyroid hormone action and TSH bioactivity. Dr. Jonklaas is involved in teaching at both a national and local level. She teaches endocrinology to residents and fellows in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. She also co-directs the endocrinology course for Georgetown Medical School’s first year medical students. She is a member of the American Thyroid Association and serves on their Guidelines and Statements Committee. She was the lead author for the American Thyroid Association’s Guidelines for the Treatment of Hypothyroidism that were published in 2014. She is also a member of the Endocrine Society and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and as a member of the Endocrine Society Self Assessment Committee.
Additional Team Members
Our nurse managers are responsible for the administration, management and direction of the operational, personnel and financial activities of the CRUs. They coordinate inter-institutional collaboration between GU HU, MHRI and the VAMC as part of the GHUCCTS and assist investigators in implementation of their protocols.
- Kathryn Turner serves as the Nurse Manager for the GU-CRU. In 2012, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Community Health from the University of Maryland, College Park and in 2015, completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Kathryn began her nursing career specializing in pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center and became a Certified Pediatric Nurse in January 2017. Here, she was also chair/ co-chair of multiple unit and hospital wide committees. Kathryn began working part-time as a Clinical Research Nurse at GU in March of 2017 and started in the Nurse Manager role as of November 2018. Kathryn is passionate about growing her knowledge and expertise in the realms of clinical research and nursing leadership. She also hopes to pursue a Family Nurse Practitioner degree while continuing to develop in her current role.
- Alice Ukaegbu: serves as nurse manager for HU-CRU. She has a Doctor of Nursing Practice and is a Family Nurse Practitioner, with over 27 years of nursing experience, including 11 years in clinical research. Dr. Ukaegbu has conducted research into the use of text message reminders to influence positive compliance in adults with type 1 diabetes and has expertise in culturally competent strategies for recruitment and retention of African American populations into clinical trials.
View CRU Leadership and Staff