Research starts with volunteers like you
Why Participate in Research?
Contribute to Medical Advancements
By joining clinical trials, you play a crucial role in the development of new treatments and therapies that can improve healthcare outcomes for everyone.
Access Cutting-Edge Treatments
Participants often gain access to the latest medical innovations and therapies before they are widely available, offering potential benefits to their health.
Support Community Health
Your involvement helps bring advanced healthcare solutions to underserved communities, ensuring broader access to preventative and therapeutic care.
Enhance Future Generations
By participating, you contribute to research that can lead to breakthroughs benefiting future generations, ensuring a healthier tomorrow for all.
Your Questions Answered
Find answers to the most common inquiries about our clinical trial processes and services.
Who can join a clinical trial?
Almost anyone can participate in a clinical trial. You can participate in clinical trials to advance medical research—regardless of your age, health, ethnicity or background. There is no insurance required, nor any proof of legal status or citizenship.
Many trials are for healthy volunteers. These include most vaccine trials. Others are looking for people with specific illnesses or medical conditions, such a type 2 diabetes. These potentially offer participants the chance at access to new investigational therapies, well before they are approved for the general public.
Clinical research volunteers are paving the way by contributing in trials to help bring novel medicines to the US and the world.
Can I get compensated for study participation?
Yes. Every study is a little bit different.
Most trials offer compensation for your time and effort, which could be anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars or more.
The compensation you receive is approved by an independent ethics board, and is relative to what is required of you in that trial—including the length and number of study visits. The compensation is detailed in the informed consent document you will receive at your first study visit.
When you speak with our Patient Enrollment Specialists, please feel free to discuss the compensation with them. We appreciate the sacrifice of your time and effort entailed in study participation, and want to be upfront with you about compensation.
What does participation in a study entail?
What are the potential risks or benefits?
It varies by study. The ethics and laws that govern medical practice also apply to clinical studies, and we adhere to these strict standards. However, studies, by nature, involve investigational products that might be ineffective or cause side effects.
Clinical studies are overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Clinical studies also follow strict protocols that we adhere to, and they are reviewed by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)—a board of highly qualified individuals who are dedicated to ensuring patients’ rights are protected.
Each participant goes through an informed consent process that explains in detail each step of the trial. Our team will help clarify information regarding the specific medicine that is being studied, the number of required doctor or clinic visits, potential side effects and many other aspects of the study and your participation. You are encouraged to ask any and all questions throughout the process.
Am I eligible to join a clinical trial?
Each clinical trial is provided with a protocol – which are the guidelines for a study. There are trials that seek patients with a specific medical condition and others that seek healthy participants. Each study is different. The protocol provides inclusion and exclusion criteria depending on various factors that allow us to determine your eligibility or ineligibility for a specific trial.
Who pays for clinical trials?
Pharmaceutical companies, various health organizations, and federal agencies fund clinical trials.
Will I be charged with any costs to participate?
No. Clinical trials are funded by various organizations or federal agencies. These sponsors cover the costs of the trial.
Will I ever find out if I got the placebo?
This varies by study. When patients are notified whether they received the placebo, we refer to this as “breaking the blind.” Not all studies break the blind. If the criteria allow, you will be notified once the study has reached completion.
Will my privacy be protected?
Yes. All medical records and research materials that might identify you are held confidential in accordance with the law, and are never sold or shared with third parties.