Clinical Trials And Medical Research

• Food And Drug Administration (FDA) - The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for review of safety and efficacy data for all new drug applications (NDA's), as well as approved prescription and over-the-counter products.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The NIH is the governmental body responsible for conducting clinical research. Their website has abundant information about clinical trials in general, as well as specific ongoing clinical trials. They also publish a booklet called "What are clinical trials all about?" To request a copy, call 800-422-6237.

• National Cancer Institute - This is the division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) responsible for cancer-related clinical trials and related information. This site provides extensive information on cancer research trials and includes a search function to allow you to search for trials in which you may be interested in participating.

• Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) - PhRMA is the national trade organization for the US pharmaceutical industry. Their reports on drugs in development for women, drugs in development for cancer, and drugs in development for AIDs can be accessed at this site. Recently, PhRMA has also launched a new site - www.newmedicines.org - from which people can access information about ongoing pharmaceutical company sponsored clinical trials in a number of disease states.

• Research!America - Research!America is the nation's leading non-profit, non-partisan voice for making medical and health research a higher national priority. Its membership represents more than 400 academic institutions, independent research laboratories, teaching hospitals, private industries, professional societies, voluntary health agencies and philanthropies. Research!America's mission is to make medical and health research a much higher national priority. Dr. Donnica has served as a member of their Board of Directors.

• The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) - The Society is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to educating researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and patients about the importance of including women in clinical trials. The Society recently launched a public education campaign, Some Things Only A Woman Can Do, to educate women about the importance of participating in medical research. Only with adequate numbers of women in clinical trials can researchers perform the gender analysis necessary to determine Sex-Based differences in drug reactions, progression of disease, and health outcomes. As the number of women enrolled in clinical trials increases, we can diminish the gender inequalities that exist in our scientific knowledge of men's and women's biology. Dr. Donnica has served as a member of their Board of Directors.

• Books on Amazon.com - Search Amazon.com for books on medical research.