Clinical trials for adults: Changing lives for the better

Clinical trials at UW Health are research studies involving volunteers like you, led by a team of our medical professionals. That team is dedicated to safely exploring treatments or ways to prevent disease. A clinical trial might be trying to find a new drug for cancer or heart disease while another might be assessing how to prevent the frequency of asthma attacks.

Clinical trials truly are only possible because of volunteers. Some people volunteer because they have a life-threatening illness or a health problem, and the trial may give them access to new treatments before widely available. Some healthy people volunteer because they have a family history of disease and want to prevent it for themselves and others. UW Health also offers clinical trials for pediatric patients.

Clinical trials are conducted with strict federal guidelines focusing on safety for volunteers. Sometimes the outcomes of trials don’t lead to the expected results. However, the process and discovery can lead to new research directions, which can ultimately translate to benefits. Participating in a clinical trial is voluntary and you can stop taking part at any time, for any reason.

UW Health is proud to provide its patients access to clinical trials.

Clinical trials move through several phases. You may hear trials referred to by these phases. Each phase of the trials is designed to gather different information about a drug or a treatment. Central to each phase, is patient safety.

When Gary Davey was offered the opportunity to join a ground-breaking clinical trial, he said, "Sign me up!" Little did he know how profoundly it would impact his life, advance research and ultimately benefit thousands of other patients.