Immediate  (May 21, 2004)

Media Contacts:

Carole Whitaker         
802) 656-1108
Carole.Whitaker@uvm.edu

Collin Parker
(802) 847-3116
Collin.Parker@vtmednet.org

Clinical Trials Directory Highlights Research at Academic Health Center

Study participants play important role in research at UVM and Fletcher Allen

Clinical researchers devote their lives to unlocking some of medicine's most complex questions. But they're not the only people to thank for the medicines and treatments we take for granted today. Behind the years of scientific studies and testing are thousands of people who were willing to participate in clinical trials to help physicians and scientists understand health and disease.

This weekend, a Clinical Research Directory will appear in the Sunday Burlington Free Press, providing information on studies that are currently looking for participants, as well as educational information about how clinical trials work. Some studies are looking to gain a better understanding of risk factors for disease, and are looking for healthy volunteers; others are seeking people with certain symptoms or conditions in order to study new medications or treatments.

"Vermonters have historically been very supportive of research, and our academic health center has an excellent reputation for educating and recruiting good study participants," says Tesheia Johnson, assistant dean and director of the Office of Clinical Trials Research. "We want to expand our outreach efforts to let the community know about the important research underway right here in Vermont, and how they might help to advance biomedical science."

At Vermont's academic health center, the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Fletcher Allen Health Care partner in the effort to attract and support quality clinical research that will benefit patients in Vermont and around the world. The Office of Clinical Trials Research was established in 2003 not only to help increase the efficiency of the clinical research efforts across the academic medical center, but also to serve as a clearinghouse for education and information on clinical trials for patients and the public.

For more information on clinical trials at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Fletcher Allen Health Care, call (802) 656-8990 or visit www.med.uvm.edu/clinicaltrials.