Jacksonville Clinical Research Facilities – Spotlight on Florida

With its diverse population and numerous academic medical centers, Jacksonville, Florida has become recognized as a prominently bountiful site for clinical trials. In its urban setting, the trials take place at convenient locations at trial site hospitals located within the metropolitan Jacksonville area.

There are many clinical research facilities in Florida, and Jacksonville has become an enticing location for clinical research, particularly some trial site locations like: Baptist Health and Wolfson Children’s Hospital with approximately 390 studies currently taking place, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville with up to 350 active studies and St. Vincent’s Medical Center with about 50 studies presently taking place. The large academic centers provide trial participants with research specialists, such as radiologists and oncologists; these specialists have better insight into, and understanding of, trial details and results than standard physicians and trial coordinators.

Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research

The Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research (JCCR) University Campus currently has over 30,000 available positions for clinical trial participants. Located in Jacksonville, the center boasts two ECG machines, two centrifuges, a treadmill, cholestech screening, lab drawing and processing equipment, refrigerated drug storage, a freezer, locked and temperature-controlled drug storage, hemoglobin A1C testing, calibrated scales and extended stay capability in infusion rooms. The trial sites are fully equipped with medical staff, including; research coordinators, a laboratory technician, an exercise physiologist, research assistants, a registered dietician and nurses.

This center hosts a wide variety of clinical studies including the following diseases, drugs, remedial procedures and medical conditions: anemia/chronic renal failure, angina, anxiety, asthma, atrial fibrillation, atypical chest pain and palitations, avian influenza vaccines, benign prostatic hypertrophy, birth control, blood sampling, chronic bronchitis, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac valvular disease, intermittent claudication, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery disease, coronary stent-restenosis, acute coronary syndrome, deep vein thrombosis, depression, diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, dyslipidemia, dyspepsia, endocarditis, endometriosis, erectile dysfunction, post chemotherapy fatigue, fibromyalgia, gastric ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), glaucoma, acute heart failure, hormone replacement, human papillomavirus (HPV) test, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperparathyroidism, hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia.

University of Florida Shands Jacksonville

The University of Florida College of Medicine is affiliated with the University of Florida Shands Jacksonville in clinical trial research. Medical school professors, doctors and students work together in managing the clinical trials. An added bonus of participating in clinical trials in an academic setting is that it enables future doctors to have hands-on learning experience under the mentorship of their supervising doctors and professors. Therefore, even if the clinical trial cannot be completed, the participants will have given medical students the opportunity to attain critical hands-on experience.

The clinical trial participants have access to top of the line medical equipment and a large staff dedicated to finding cures and answers to medical phenomena. There are about 70 clinical trial coordinators working to recruit participants for future studies, and approximately 530 clinical trials currently taking place at these sites.

Check out some of the top notch clinical drug trials in Florida, especially those in the Jacksonville area. There are some great teams doing some great work!