ProHealth Clinical Research Center

Overview of Services

Johns Hopkins ProHealth is a joint program of the GIM Division and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research. This community-based facility is among the nation’s premier centers that conduct prevention-oriented research, often clinical trials, with a goal of preventing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and kidney disease. It was established in 1989 by Dr. Paul Whelton, who was also the founding director of the Welch Center, and Dr. Lawrence J. Appel, current director of the Welch Center.

Dr. Lawrence Appel is the current Director of ProHealth.  Under his direction, the program has grown substantially. Located near the intersection of routes 70 and 695 in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore County (directions), the program occupies ~15,000 sq ft of space and employs over 30 research staff.  Downstairs, the Data Collection Suite includes a reception area, a clinical laboratory, 8 examination rooms, a large data storage room, and long-term freezers. Upstairs, the Intervention Suite includes group meeting rooms, individual counseling rooms, an exercise room, and a state of the art metabolic kitchen.

ProHealth has hosted a series of landmark, NIH-funded studies, including TOHP, TONE, DASH, DASH-Sodium, OmniHeart, OmniCarb, DPP, AASK, CRIC, Achieve, PREMIER, Weight Loss Maintenance, POWER, and Look AHEAD.  Some of the high-impact papers associated with these studies are available online.

Leadership

Lawrence Appel, MD | Director, Welch Center

Jeanne Charleston, MD | Director, Clinical Research Operations, ProHealth

Location and hours of operation

Links and Resources

• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gim/research/prohealth/

Contacts