The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute announced it is awarding more than $40 million over three years to its first round of comparative-effectiveness research projects.

The 25 winning projects (PDF), chosen from among a field of more than 500 applicants, cover a broad range of topics, such as rehabilitation care for stroke patients, palliative care in nursing homes, dementia care and healthcare disparities among patients with depression. Winning institutions include the Portland-based Oregon Community Health Information Network, the University of Rochester (N.Y.), the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative.

In a news release, PCORI Executive Director Dr. Joe Selby called the announcement a “major milestone.”

“These research projects reflect PCORI's patient-centered research agenda, emphasizing the inclusion of patients and caregivers at all stages of the research,” he said.

Established by the healthcare reform law to promote and fund comparative-effectiveness research, PCORI is a Washington-based, independent not-for-profit organization. The group announced its first wave of grant funding in June, awarding $30 million to 50 projects that investigate ways to engage patients and families in the research process. These latest projects, however, are the organization's first awards for traditional clinical-effectiveness research.

On Nov. 20, PCORI also issued a call for applications for $12 million in funds for methodology-focused projects that address gaps in comparative-effectiveness research, one of the five priority areas outline in the group's research agenda. PCORI says it expects to announce those winners in spring 2013.