US: Recruiting participants in research

More than 50 research institutions around the United States now make information about their clinical research trials available on ResearchMatch, the country's first registry for recruiting research participants. The not-for-profit website provides academics interested in participating in research the opportunity to be matched with studies that may be the right fit for them.

The secure site offers a free and safe way for volunteers to connect with thousands of researchers who are conducting research on a wide range of diseases. It is a collaborative effort of the national network of medical research institutions affiliated with the Clinical and Translational Science Awards.

The CTSA programme is led by the National Center for Research Resources, a part of the National Institutes of Health. It is focused on expanding local and national efforts to enhance the translation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients.

"The Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science is proud to be a founding collaborating institution of ResearchMatch," said Barry S Coller, Vice President for Medical Affairs and co-director of Rockefeller's CCTS.

"ResearchMatch is an important initiative in speeding both the discovery of new knowledge and the translation of that knowledge into improved health. It incorporates a number of confidentiality and privacy protections and has been approved by a human subject ethics committee."

Although other web sites list available clinical trials, ResearchMatch places the burden of connecting the right volunteers with the right study on the researchers. Clinicaltrials.gov, in contrast, asks volunteers to identify the trials that could work for them.

"Participant recruitment continues to be a significant barrier to the completion of research studies nationwide," said NCRR director Barbara Alving. "Recent NIH data indicate that just 4% of the US population has participated in clinical trials. ResearchMatch is a tool that can improve the connection and communication between potential participants and researchers providing opportunities for the public to contribute to advancing new treatments."

Currently 52 institutions associated with 40 CTSA sites are part of the ResearchMatch network.