Skip to main content
menu
URMC / Research / Health Research / Healthy Trials

Healthy Volunteer Studies

If you would like to participate in health research as the healthy volunteer, below is a list of studies accepting healthy volunteers.

An EEG Study of Auditory Perception in People with and without Schizophrenia

Lead Researcher: Judy Thompson

The purpose of our study is to better understand how the brain processes sounds, including speech. We are investigating this in people with and without psychiatric conditions. One of our primary aims is to determine how these processes may relate to specific experiences and symptoms in conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder, with the goal of using this knowledge to develop more effective treatments. In order to study how the brain processes sounds, we use a technique called electroencephalography, or EEG. For EEG, a person wears a comfortable elastic cap with sensors attached to it that are able to record brain activity. In these sessions, subjects listen to short audio clips while EEG is recording; this allows us to measure brain responses to sounds. This study also includes interviews about current and past psychiatric symptoms and treatment, as well as a few short tasks, questionnaires, and a hearing test. The study typically involves 4-5 visits, with each about 2-3 hours long. Subjects are paid $30 an hour, as well as a $30 bonus if they complete all study activities. Transportation costs are also covered, and free snacks are provided. People between the ages of 18-55 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, or no psychiatric diagnosis may be eligible to participate.

View Study Details

BABE

Lead Researcher: Kirsi Jarvinen-seppo

You are eligible if you are pregnant and 18 years old or older and give birth to a healthy infant. The purpose of this study is to compare a group of people at low risk for getting allergies, the Old Order Mennonite, with a group of people at higher risk of getting allergies, the average person living in Rochester. The immune system protects us from diseases, working throughout the body, including in secretions such as saliva and breast milk, and in the normal bacteria in the stomach and intestines. The way people live, including the things they are exposed to, changes the way the immune system develops. A baby’s immune system develops over time. The baby’s ability to fight disease is helped by the mom’s immunity passed to the baby through breast milk. By comparing biological samples like saliva, breast milk, and stool, we can study differences between these two groups to see what’s different in a group at low risk and a group at higher risk of getting allergies. Using questionnaires and biologic samples (stool, skin cells, blood, etc.) we will evaluate the development of the infant microbiome, metabolite composition and the immune system and how that relates to the development of allergic disease. The microbiome is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that naturally live on our bodies and inside us. A metabolite is any substance produced during metabolism (digestion or other bodily chemical processes). The term metabolite may also refer to the product that remains after a medicine is broken down (metabolized) by the body.

View Study Details

Connection in Caregivers

Lead Researcher: Kimberly Van orden

Subjects will complete a baseline interview (phone/zoom and online) at the beginning of the study. If eligible, subjects will complete 10 days of surveys that are texted 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, evening). Eligible subjects will also complete a follow-up interview (zoom/phone and online) at 6 months. Subjects are paid up to $400 for completing assessments. Inclusion: age 50 and older; caring daily for a loved one with dementia; caregiving stress. Exclusion: Under 50 years of age; not caring for a loved one with dementia daily.

View Study Details

COVID-19 Vaccine Studies

Lead Researcher: Ann Falsey

URMC is studying several variations of a COVID-19 vaccine. Compensation: $500-$900. Participation Requirements: Age 18+; Have not been infected with COVID-19. To volunteer, take our survey to find out if you qualify: https://redcap.urmc.rochester.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XHH9MC8RMK

View Study Details

Fine Eye Movement Study

Lead Researcher: Brian Keane

This study will look at differences in eye movement as they relate to visual perception and the way people think. The information collected in this study will aid in finding ways to more accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders, namely schizophrenia, by using eye scans. Also, results from this study may guide the development of more tailored therapies to help people with psychiatric disorders in the future. Procedures include: interviews about your medical and drug use history; a vocabulary test; review of your eRecord data; visual perceptual tasks completed on a computer; and eye scans (like those during an eye doctor exam). Some of these procedures may occur via Zoom, depending on participant preferences. Eligibility: Ages 18-55; a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder OR no psychiatric disorder with no more than one lifetime major depressive episode.

View Study Details

Lung Health Cohort

Lead Researcher: Sandhya Khurana

Because lung function reaches its peak level between the ages of 25-35 years old, we are beginning our study with people only in this age range. If you are in this age range and have no history of chronic (i.e. long-lasting) lung diseases - other than mild asthma - and no history of cardiovascular disease, you may be eligible to join this study. This study involves a combination of in-person exams (during a single visit), at-home tasks, and remote contact (via video conference, text message, email, phone, or mail). During the in-person visit, we will test your lung function, take images of your chest (CT scans), and ask you to provide biospecimen samples (blood, urine, and nasal samples). There is an at-home portion to this study where you will wear an activity monitor for one week, and you will perform breathing tests at home. We will follow-up with you remotely every 3 to six months (up to 4 times per year) until the end of the study.

View Study Details

PRG Contact Database

Lead Researcher: Brian Keane

This future contact database will facilitate contact with prospective subjects, giving them greater opportunities to participate in behavioral and neuroimaging studies for which they may be eligible.

View Study Details

Psychosis-Risk Outcomes Study (ProNET)

Lead Researcher: Steven Silverstein

The purpose of this research study is to collect information from individuals who are considered at clinically high risk for the possible development of psychosis. Information will also be collected from healthy individuals who are not considered at high risk for psychosis. This information will be used to guide future treatments. Participants will participate in interviews and cognitive tasks, provide blood samples, saliva and DNA, and get a scan of their brain. You may participate up to 2 years. You must be between 12 and 30 years old. There are other requirements to join the study. The study team can review them with you.

View Study Details

Social Connection Coaching for Adults Age 60 Years or Older

Lead Researcher: Kimberly Van orden

Adults (age 60 or older) will participate in Social Connection Coaching. This involves meeting with a Coach up to 10 times. The first 8 sessions will be completed during the first 8 weeks. A booster session will be done at 12 weeks and 16 weeks. These meetings are brief (approximately 30 mins) and will be done at a private space at your senior living community or senior center, your home or our office. The coaching is designed to help you enhance your relationships and improve well-being. Your coach will help you identify goals for improving your social relationships. Each session, your coach will help you set a goal for the week, brainstorm strategies to meet the goal, and identify concrete steps to take to achieve the goal. You would also complete research assessments by phone or zoom at study start, 8 weeks and 16 weeks. This study also involves using a study provided smartphone to complete assessments. Subjects are paid up to $500 for completing assessments.

View Study Details

Spoken Language Comprehension in Adolescents​

Lead Researcher: Loisa Bennetto

​In this online study, an adolescent will schedule a Zoom appointment with a researcher and complete a computer-based listening study that may take up to 45 minutes. The parent will then complete background information surveys, which may take up to 20 minutes. Participants will be compensated via an electronic gift card. We hope that this research will lead to a better understanding of everyday spoken language communication and social interactions in adolescents with and without autism. We are currently recruiting adolescents aged 13-17 without autism. Please make sure to add an email address so that we can contact you!

View Study Details

Understanding auditory processing disorders in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD

Lead Researcher: Emily Knight

The study uses EEG (electroencephalogram), virtual reality (VR), and cognitive testing. Children are asked to participate in two sessions (~3hrs each). Children are given several breaks during the sessions. In the 1st session, children wear an EEG cap and VR headset. They view three characters in virtual reality and are asked to press a button when the character in the middle says a target word. While the child is doing the VR-EEG, we also ask parents to fill out questionnaires about their child. In the 2nd session, we involve the child in a series of cognitive and behavioral tests that measure things like IQ, language processing, executive function, and social communication. Parents can receive a report of the testing results from this 2nd session if they choose. Children receive $18hr per hour for participating. There is an additional parent stipend of $25 per session. Children must be 7-12 years old. Children with typical development and those with autism and/or ADHD can participate in the study. Children must have normal hearing, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, no neurological disease, no history of head injury or psychosis. They must have fluent verbal ability and average or above intelligence for this study. We also ask that Typically Developing Controls do not have a personal history of developmental disability and do not have a parent or sibling with autism.

View Study Details