Clinical Studies

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s research arm, Benaroya Research Institute (BRI), studies the immune system and the wide range of diseases that affect it, including autoimmune diseases, allergies, asthma, cancer, and COVID-19. We make these learnings available to Care Network members to improve care in their communities. Additionally, we educate member hospitals on active and upcoming clinical trials, and if they have a qualifying patient who could benefit from the trials, open enrollment to them.

Our mission is to advance the science to predict, prevent, reverse, and cure diseases of the immune system. Researchers at BRI work to create a detailed picture of the immune system, shepherding $84 million in research annually, 72% of which is federally funded.

BRI is a nonprofit research institute that oversees more than 480 research studies that are run through our Clinical Research Program. These studies encompass all major centers of care and clinical services, including various cancers, cardiology and pulmonology, infectious disease, and more. 

BRI is home to world-renowned research experts in all things immune system. Some samples of our work include:

• Extensive expertise and leadership in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, screening and care. We support TrialNet screening for biomarkers of disease in family members of those with T1D covering the five northwest states (WA, OR, ID, MT, AK). We also lead ongoing clinical studies enrolling newly-diagnosed individuals with T1D.
• We are leaders of the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), a collaborative network for clinical research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Through the ITN, BRI develops and conducts clinical trials across autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, and organ transplantation.
• Most importantly, we are advancing the science to predict, prevent, reverse, and cure diseases of the immune system. 

At BRI, we work together, lifting each other up and supporting one another. We celebrate everyone who makes our work possible, including scientists and staff at all levels, collaborators, research participants, and donors.

We’ve built our research organization to encourage collaboration across disciplines because we know what happens when immunologists, bioinformaticians, physicians, and others team up.

We build new tools. We ask different questions. And we move closer to our vision of a healthy immune system for everyone.