Patient education
Clinical Research Education for Patients and Families
Complete this short form and a member of the ACRC research team may contact you about current or future study opportunities. Learn what clinical research is, how participation works, what questions to ask, and how ACRC supports participants throughout the study process.
Key terms in clinical research
Plain-language definitions to help you understand how clinical studies work.
- Clinical trial
- A research study in people that evaluates a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention to learn whether it is safe and how well it works.
- Clinical research site
- A medical facility, such as ACRC, where clinical trials are conducted by qualified physicians and research staff under a defined protocol.
- Principal investigator
- The physician who leads a clinical trial at a research site and is responsible for participant safety, protocol conduct, and data integrity.
- Informed consent
- The process by which a potential participant learns the purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives of a study before deciding whether to take part — and may withdraw at any time.
- Study eligibility
- A set of medical and lifestyle criteria, defined in the study protocol, that determine whether a person may take part in a specific clinical trial.
- Sponsor / CRO
- The sponsor is the company or institution that funds and oversees a clinical trial. A Contract Research Organization (CRO) is a partner that helps manage trial operations on the sponsor's behalf.