Seek research participants for studies. New posts will be featured in the "What's New" section of the website, and we'll also send them out in the SRF Newsletter. Please let us know if you have any success through this feature of the website.

Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Family Genetic Research Study—Posted 29 March 2010

The Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is currently conducting a NIMH-funded study on the genetic causes of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The purpose of the study is to discover how genetic risk for these illnesses and their associated biological and behavioral traits is transmitted in families.

You may be eligible to participate in the study if you meet these conditions:

• Age between 15-65 years;
• Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder (with psychosis);
• Have at least one biological first-degree relative, i.e., a sister, brother, mother or father willing to participate. The relative does not need to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder but it is okay if they are;
• No serious medical, neuron-ophthalmological or neurological illness (e.g., cancer, seizure disorders, encephalopathy);
• No current substance abuse (within past three months) or past history of substance dependence (within six months or extensive history);
• No ferromagnetic objects lodged in the body.

Participation involves the following:

• Clinical interviews to evaluate diagnosis and gather other personal information;
• Neuropsychological tests to examine thinking abilities such as attention and memory;
• Electroencephalography (EEG)/Sensory Gating tests to measure brain activity in response to sounds;
• Eyetracking tests to measure eye movements and visual attention;
• MRI to measure brain structures and function;
• Blood sample for DNA (genetic) studies;
• Urine sample to screen for drugs and pregnancy.

The total amount of time it takes to complete the study is approximately 14-16 hours. Transportation can be provided if needed. All participants will be compensated for their time.

For more details, call our clinical coordinators: Heather Verron at 410-402-6822 or Megan Henry at 410-402-6834.

Study of Internalized Stigma Among Family Members of People With Mental Illness—Posted 29 March 2010

Stigma can have serious negative effects on people with mental illness and their family members. We are a team of University of British Columbia mental illness researchers who have developed a new questionnaire to assess internalized stigma in close family members (parents, brothers, sisters, and children) of people with mental illness. We are looking for family members of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder to complete the questionnaire to help us validate it. You can participate in the study whether or not you have a mental illness yourself, as long as you have an affected family member. Participating in the study involves a telephone interview and completing questionnaires at two different time points. There is no travel involved in this study. Participants can complete the questionnaires from home.

If you are a parent, brother, sister, or child of a person with mental illness and would like more information about participating, please contact Emily Morris at mental.illness@ubc.ca or 604-875-2000, ext.4733.

Participate in Research—Posted 4 February 2010

The Division of Addiction Psychiatry is located at 317 George Street, Suite 105, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Our researchers are always looking for individuals to participate in our studies. Most studies will compensate you for your time.

Studies currently open to enrollment:

Nicotine Nasal Spray

Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Nicotine Nasal Spray as an Aid for Smoking Cessation in Schizophrenia is a two-year, project designed to study the efficacy of NNS and behavioral intervention for smoking cessation in smokers with schizophrenia. If you smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day, you may qualify to participate in a study looking at the quit rate of subjects who receive NNS and behavioral intervention compared to the quit rate of the control group who will receive the placebo spray plus same behavioral intervention. Participants are paid $390 for their participation in the study, which takes about 15 weeks to complete. For further information, or to refer a patient, please contact Dr. Jill Williams at 732-235-4600 or at williajm@umdnj.edu.

Nicotine Intake in Smokers with Schizophrenia

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry is conducting a research study to see if there are differences in ways that different groups of people smoke cigarettes and their nicotine intake. This is not a quit smoking study. If you have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and are between ages of 18 and 70 and you smoke, you may qualify to participate in a study looking at cigarette puffing behavior. Subjects are paid $100 for participation in the study which takes about 2-3 days to complete. The principal study researcher is Jill Williams, M.D., of the UMDNJ-RWJMS Psychiatry Department and the UMDNJ-Tobacco Dependence Program, 317 George Street, Ste 105, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. For more information, call Dr. Williams at 732-235-4600.

Research Volunteers Needed—Posted 15 January 2010

Males and females who are between the ages of 18 and 39, and who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, may be eligible to participate in a research study looking at specific symptoms that some people with schizophrenia experience.

Study requirements:
14.5 hours of interviews, questionnaires, memory tests, MRI scan, and collection of blood sample, which will be done in over 4 days at Bellevue Hospital and NYU School of Medicine. Monetary compensation will be provided

For further information about the study and your eligibility, please call Sarah at 212-263-0735, or Taryn at 212-263-0855, or Nicole at 212-263-8107, at the New York University School of Medicine.

Language and Risk for Schizophrenia (LNR) is an NIMH-funded study through Harvard Medical School seeking healthy volunteers who have close relatives with schizophrenia. The purpose of the study is to compare the brains of people who either have or do not have a family history of schizophrenia. The study procedures include an interview, blood draw, testing, and head MRI. The procedures may take place at the following locations: Boston, Massachusetts; Brockton, Massachusetts, or Fall River, Massachusetts, depending on the availability, and we will assist with travel when possible. You may be compensated $130 upon completion of the study and receive a free picture of your brain.

For more information or to participate, please contact the clinical coordinator Gul Jabbar MA, at (845) 981-9514 or e-mail research.volunteers@gmail.com. When leaving a message, please include your name, phone number, and the best time to reach you.

• Have you been given the diagnosis of schizophrenia by a mental health professional?
• Are you at least 18 years old?
• Have you not experienced severe symptoms for at least 6 months?

Hello, my name is Nisha Fernandes; I'm an advanced graduate student at the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, and I'm currently seeking volunteers for my research about the experience of self in schizophrenia.

I want to have a deep understanding of schizophrenia and its process so that I, and other clinicians, may eventually learn how to effectively treat this phenomenon. In order for me to truly understand the experience of self in schizophrenia, I wish to talk with individuals who have gone through this process.

Interested persons will be asked to participate in a brief phone interview to determine if my study is a good fit for you and if you meet criteria for my study. If you are eligible for my study, you will be invited to two confidential, individual interviews of up to 1.5 to 2 hours each at a mutually agreed upon location (my school, a park, coffee shop, etc.). Volunteers who share their experience with me by participating in my study may find that it helps develop their own understanding of what they went through. It can also feel good to know that you are doing something that may eventually help others who are going through and will go through similar experiences with schizophrenia. Also, as a thank you for participating in my study, I will give you $50 at the end of the second interview.

If you are interested in volunteering, or have any questions at all about my study, please e-mail me StudyOnSelf@yahoo.com.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Genetic Study of Agranulocytosis with Clozapine—Posted 13 March 2007

We are seeking patients who developed agranulocytosis while being treated with clozapine (Clozaril, Fazaclo). Criteria for participation are

1. patient is age 18 or over;

2. patient was diagnosed with agranulocytosis (ANC <500 mm) or granulocytopenia (ANC <1,000 mm) during treatment with clozapine;

3. patient was discontinued from clozapine treatment at time of the occurrence of the agranulocytosis or granulocytopenia;

4. patient is able to provide informed consent.

This study, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, is being conducted in an attempt to identify genes associated with the development of agranulocytosis in patients treated with clozapine. We hope to develop a blood screening test that will predict which patients are at risk for developing the blood disorder before treatment with clozapine is started. Thus, patients who do not show specific genes would not have to undergo burdensome blood monitoring. Any interested patient should call us at 1-866-621-6898. Patient will have a single blood sample drawn.

This study is being conducted by
Anil Malhotra, MD
The Zucker Hillside Hospital
Psychiatry Research Department
Glen Oaks, NY 11004

For more information, contact us or call 718-470-8563.

Genetic Study of People with Schizophrenia or Bipolar Illness, and First-Degree Relatives—Posted 28 November 2006

Contact: Dan Roche or Brad Folley, 860-545-7808

The Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital is starting a study of people with schizophrenia or bipolar illness and their first-degree relatives. Qualifying participants will be asked to come in on two separate days to participate in a brain imaging (MRI + EEG) and additional testing research project. Participants will be compensated $20 an hour. The study is open to adults aged 18-60 who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and to their relatives (parents, brothers, and/or sisters).

Brain Imaging Study of People with Schizophrenia and Their Family Members—Posted 7 November 2006

Contact: Dan Roche, 860-545-7808

The Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital (Hartford, CT) is starting a study of people with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives (parents, brothers, and/or sisters). Qualifying participants will be asked to come in on two separate days to participate in a brain imaging (functional MRI) and memory testing research project. Participants will be compensated $20 an hour. The study is open to adults aged 18-60 who have schizophrenia and to the relatives mentioned above.

Antipsychotic-treated Schizophrenia Patients —Posted 7 September 2006

A team of researchers from King's College London has recently created a new company focused on pharmacogenetic prediction tests in psychiatry. In order to rapidly progress our work, we are expanding our network of collaborators. We wish to team up with academic and clinical units internationally to obtain DNA and clinical data from patients with psychiatric disorders, for example, from well-characterized antipsychotic-treated schizophrenia patients. We are interested in collecting distinct cohorts from many different ethnicities, as the polymorphisms predicting response vary according to ethnic background.