Information for Study Volunteers
Are you thinking about being in a clinical research study at the OSU Clinical Research Center?
Here is some background information on volunteering for a study.
The Environmental Health Sciences Center (EHSC) at OSU has a long history of cutting edge research on environmental health-related diseases. Recent changes to priorities in health research at the national level mandated bringing basic science discoveries about environmental health into real-world applications where they can improve human health. EHSC has met this challenge by establishing the Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC). The IHSFC provides services to support EHSC members in doing clinical research, research that has the potential to have a major impact on public health.
What is Clinical Research?
Clinical research studies seek to answer questions about human health by involving human volunteers in a research protocol. Environmental health clinical research studies may ask questions about:
- Exposure: Is a particular toxic chemical found in humans, and if so, at what levels? By what routes does it enter the body (through food, by breathing, by absorption through the skin)?
- Relationship to disease: Does a toxic chemical cause or contribute to the development of a disease? How much of the toxin is needed to have a negative health impact?
- Mechanism of disease: How does a toxic chemical act in the body to cause a disease? What roles do inflammation and/or aging play?
- Prevention: How can environmental health-related diseases be prevented? What about anti-oxidants or vitamins?
Why Participate in Clinical Research?
People volunteer for clinical research studies for a variety of reasons. Many are motivated by the desire to contribute something of value that can help others. Some seek new treatments that are not yet available to the public. Others find that being in a research study is an opportunity to learn about the condition being studied. Many research studies offer token financial compensation for the time and inconvenience involved in being in a study.
Where Can You Get More Information?
Here are some links to websites with additional information:
General information about participating in research projects
- Partners in Research (pdf), a publication by the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center
- National Institute of Health site for potential study volunteers:
Are Clinical Studies for You? -
Office of Human Research Protections Pamphlet:
Becoming a Research Volunteer: It’s Your Decision - Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP)
LIFE Registry -
Oregon residents 50 and older are invited to sign up with the OSU's
Center for Healthy Aging Research (CHAR) registry. This registry was
established as a way to contact people who are interested in
participating in research studies about aging. If you sign up, you will
receive periodic updates by mail (email or snail) on opportunities to
participate in research about healthy aging.
