Research Pillars
Everything WIRE does falls within five core research domains. These aren't siloed programs — they overlap, reinforce each other, and collectively define what it means to do endoscopic research with rigor and purpose.
Pillar I
Clinical Trial Design & Conduct
Changing how procedural evidence is generated.
WIRE doesn't just run clinical trials — we are deeply invested in improving their methodology and design. We develop stakeholder-informed core outcome sets, pioneer novel endpoints for competing risks such as hierarchical composite endpoints, and evaluate analytic methods that mitigate challenges unique to procedural medicine, including skill-based bias. Alongside investigator-initiated and multi-center trials, we focus on pragmatic designs and close integration with the MCW Clinical Trials Office. Our ambition is to reshape how endoscopic evidence is generated, not just add to the volume.
Focus areas
- Stakeholder-informed core outcome sets
- Hierarchical composite endpoints
- Skill-based bias mitigation
- Pragmatic and adaptive trial designs
- Multi-center trial participation
Pillar II
Equity & Engagement
Equity in who does the research — and who it serves.
Equity at WIRE runs deeper than enrollment demographics. It starts with the team itself — we are committed to building a group of investigators, trainees, and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences, because the perspectives that shape a study matter as much as the data it produces. In parallel, we design studies with inclusive enrollment practices, community partnerships, and attention to social determinants of health, ensuring the evidence we generate is generalizable, equitable, and actionable for the populations that need it most.
Focus areas
- Diverse investigator and trainee recruitment
- Inclusive trial enrollment strategies
- Community-engaged study design
- Health equity outcomes research
- Disparities in endoscopic care access
Pillar III
Meta-Research & Scientific Integrity
Studying how research itself is done — and making it better.
Meta-research is the science of science. WIRE investigates how endoscopy studies are designed, reported, and replicated — and where the field can do better. This includes systematic reviews with rigorous methodology, assessments of reporting quality and outcome heterogeneity, and efforts to promote pre-registration and data transparency across the GI literature.
Focus areas
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- Reporting quality assessments
- Outcome standardization initiatives
- Reproducibility and transparency audits
Pillar IV
Transparent Observational Studies
Protocol first — regardless of study design.
Observational research is the backbone of clinical epidemiology, but only when it is done right. At WIRE, every observational study — whether a prospective cohort, a large EHR-based analysis, or a retrospective chart review — has a protocol drafted and registered before the study begins. There are no fishing expeditions at WIRE. We emphasize pre-specified endpoints, standardized data collection, and transparent reporting, because the rigor of a study is determined by its design, not its label.
Focus areas
- Pre-registered protocols for all study designs
- Prospective cohort studies
- Protocol-driven EHR and retrospective analyses
- Standardized endoscopic data collection
- Real-world evidence generation
Pillar V
Implementation & Impact
Closing the gap between evidence and practice.
Generating evidence is only half the job. WIRE's implementation pillar focuses on two sides of the same coin: translating research findings into clinical workflows, and studying how published clinical trials have actually been implemented in real-world practice. We investigate what works, what barriers prevent adoption, where guidelines are followed and where they aren't, and how to design dissemination strategies that move the needle. This domain bridges the space between a published paper and a changed practice.
Focus areas
- Real-world implementation of trial findings
- Guideline adherence and de-implementation studies
- Quality improvement research
- Knowledge translation and dissemination
- Implementation science in endoscopy