Clinical Trials
Types of Clinical Trials at Aurora Health Care
Shirley celebrates her recovery from breast cancer after participating in a clinical trial. Learn more about clinical trials and Shirley amazing story.
Clinical research is vital to advancements in the field of health care. Research is the cornerstone for investigating disease prevention, treatment using drugs or medical devices and other interventions.
A clinical trial is a specific type of research study designed to evaluate new drugs, devices or treatments for a variety of health problems. Clinical trials enroll people to help discover whether or not these new drugs, devices, and treatments are safe and effective. Patients benefit from clinical trials research through opportunities to receive new treatments and they can take pride in the fact that they are helping advance medical knowledge through their participation.
Aurora currently has more than 400 active clinical trials. Approximately 60 percent of these trials are focused on oncology, 25 percent on cardiovascular and the remaining 15 percent consist of neurology, gastroenterology, orthopedics and women’s health.
Clinical trial professionals
The multidisciplinary team of professionals in Aurora's Clinical Trials department includes, but is not limited to physicians, nurses, pharmacists, researchers and research coordinators who partner with pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, government agencies and other sponsors.
Aurora patients can participate in several types of clinical trials including:
- Screening/Prevention trials - Seeking methods of early detection or prevention of disease and looking for better ways to prevent reoccurrence.
- Diagnostic trials - finding better tests or procedures for diagnosing a particular disease or condition.
- Treatment trials - testing new therapies (drugs and/or devices), combinations of drugs (and/or devices) or approaches to medical procedures.
- Quality of life trials - exploring ways to improve comfort and the quality of life for individuals with chronic illness.
Clinical research trials are available at every Aurora hospital and have led to important advancements in health care. The trials are conducted in a variety of clinical areas, including cancer, cardiovascular, neurology, women's health and gastroenterology.
High standards for Aurora's clinical research trials
Aurora's research staff collaborates with many highly-respected universities in Wisconsin and throughout the nation. Researchers work closely with the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Agency for Research and Health Care Quality, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Aurora also has participated in many multi-center clinical trial programs, working to answer questions posed by other doctors and scientists and contributing data to the approval of new drugs and devices.
Every clinical trial at Aurora is conducted according to the highest ethical and professional standards to ensure the protection of the individuals who volunteer to participate. Aurora is proud to be one of the first medical organizations to have a research subject protection program accredited by the Association for Accreditation of Human Research Protection Program.
Research links
- ClinicalTrials.gov – Federally and privately funded trials.
- FDA.gov – Food and Drug Administration
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – Research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- NIH.gov – National Institutes of Health
- Clinical Trials Network of Wisconsin – Clinical Trials Education Network of Wisconsin
- Center Watch – One of the oldest and most comprehensive clinical research sites.
- Clinical Trial Network – A resource for clinical trial professionals.
- Clinical Trials Network Best Practices
- Cancer.gov – Comprehensive patient information on clinical trials.
- Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation – A nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education about clinical research.
- AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service – For AIDS patients and others infected with HIV.
- Office of Rare Diseases – Rare disease clinical research database.
- CUPH.org – Center for Urban Population Health
Aurora Institutional Review Board
Research Subject Protection Program Institutional Review Board
