More Than 1,000 Arkansans Join UAMS-Supported Research Volunteer Registry
| LITTLE ROCK – More than 1,000 Arkansans have signed up to volunteer for research through an online registry that connects them with research opportunities at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and other institutions nationwide.
The 1,000-volunteer mark was achieved this month at ResearchMatch.org, a free registry operated in partnership with UAMS’ Translational Research Institute and research institutions nationwide.
“This is an exciting milestone for us, and it shows that Arkansans are motivated to help improve health and health care,” said Curtis Lowery, M.D., director of the Translational Research Institute. “Many excellent studies fail because they can’t recruit enough participants. ResearchMatch is helping us develop a pool of potential participants who can help us find ways to address important health issues.”
Studies have found that about 30 percent of clinical trials nationally fail to enroll any participants and 85 percent face delays due to a lack of participation.
The nonprofit ResearchMatch was initiated in November 2009 by a consortium of research institutions to bring together people who are interested in participating in research studies and researchers who are looking for research participants. It now has more than 35,000 registered volunteers nationally. The volunteers are supporting the work of nearly 1,600 researchers and 350 studies. The studies range from clinical trials to surveys that volunteers can do at home.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute’s mission is to help accelerate research that will improve the health and health care of people in Arkansas and across the nation. It is one of 60 NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award recipients.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute and ResearchMatch are funded in part by the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS), Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program grant.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.