Pitt+Me Salutes a Quarter Million Participants!
May 3rd, 2021
The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at the University of Pittsburgh is pleased to announce that Pitt+Me—a program that links people of all ages to hundreds of in-person and remote research studies at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC—enrolled its 250,000th participant in April 2021. This large and diverse group of adult and pediatric participants helps researchers make groundbreaking discoveries, gives Western Pennsylvanians access to innovative research studies, and contributes to advancing exceptional medical care across the region.
Recognizing the need for better ways to connect people with research opportunities, CTSI Director Steven Reis, MD, started the program (originally named the CTSI Research Participant Registry) in 2008, with just 4,200 participants and 75 studies using the service during its first year. According to Dr. Reis, the impact of the program can be measured in part by its growth, “Pitt+Me now features more than 400 research studies addressing a variety of topics including diabetes, depression, heart disease, cancer, sleep, pregnancy, and many more. We encourage everyone to take part in research studies to find treatments for their own health conditions, to advance knowledge in the hopes of preventing disease in the next generation, or to help move science forward in general.” Many research studies also provide compensation for a participant’s time and effort.
Over the past 13 years, Pitt+Me has assisted with nearly 2,000 research studies and helped match participants with studies more than 200,000 times. And the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t slowed us down—throughout the year, Pitt+Me helped researchers recruit for 20 studies related to COVID-19 and participants like you reached out to answer the call more than 35,000 times! Together with you, we are advancing the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19 and many other health concerns affecting our community.
According to University of Pittsburgh sleep expert Daniel Buysse, MD, groundbreaking discoveries are made on a regular basis thanks to Pitt+Me participants. “Recruitment is often the single most challenging problem in clinical research. Without participants, we simply cannot discover new ways to identify, treat, and prevent health problems. Pitt+Me has dramatically changed the equation, making it easier for patients to become participants, and for researchers to complete their studies. My hope is that each and every research study participant knows how important their contribution is and how much they are appreciated.”
Update your profile today to let us know about the kinds of research studies that may interest you! Already up to date? Browse all research study opportunities at pittplusme.org.