Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research History

The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research was established in1995 to combine the resources of Palmer College of Chiropractic and Palmer College of Chiropractic West. Research faculty and staff from both Palmer campuses work effectively together on Common goals. The Center is now organized into six research programs and two offices for planning and administration: Chiropractic Technique and Technology Assessment Program, The Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research Program, Consortial Center for Chiropractic Research (CCCR), Educational Research Program, Experimental Biomechanics and Neurosciences Research Program, and Health Services and Policy Research Program (HSPRP); and Office of Data Management and Biostatistics and Office of Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Programs.

The Division of Graduate Studies (offices and research laboratories) and Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research are located in the William and Jo Harris Building on the east side of campus, across Brady Street from the Palmer Mansion. The PCCR and its programs and offices are supported with federal and private foundation grants. The entire building is committed to research and research training. Remodeling of the building was completed in October 2002, supported by a grant from the National Institute for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – the first such award in chiropractic.

Apropos of didactic instruction, three floors of the Center contain fully equipped seminar/conference rooms with one located on the lower level of the building. Additional laboratories are equipped for instruction in statistics, data management, scientific writing, budget development and control, project management, literature searching, graphic production, etc. The computer network within the PCCR is fully internet accessible allowing easy online instruction and access to the whole range of internet resources.

In addition to a seminar room, the lower level is dedicated to basic research laboratories. Three of these support the college’s electron microscopes. An in vitro human biomechanics laboratory completes the laboratories on the lower level. The first floor is dedicated to a chiropractic research clinic and its associated offices and laboratories (clinical biomechanics, x-ray, and rehabilitation). Administrative, faculty and the various research program offices are on the second and third floor of the building. Offices of some graduate faculty members and some graduate assigned students are located on the third floor. Three additional laboratories supporting light (including two photomicroscopes) and electron microscopy are on the third floor. One of these is a light microscopy laboratory with a computerized Nikon photomicroscope. Several appropriately equipped preparatory laboratories on the third and fourth floor of the PCCR support both light and electron microscopy. The fourth floor contains only research laboratories for histological technique, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and in vivo biomechanics. After completing required training, graduate students will have ready access to facilities for bright field, dark field, and fluorescence light microscopy; scanning and transmission electron microscopy; and morphometry, all maintained by the Division of Graduate Studies and Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR).

Additional research laboratories of the PCCR support biochemical, biomechanical and kinematics research. General research laboratories are maintained by the PCCR, and the Division of Graduate Studies. Networked personal computers are available through the Division of Graduate Studies for statistical analysis, word processing and multimedia instruction.

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