ResearchMatch for Participants

What is ResearchMatch?

ResearchMatch is a nonprofit program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It’s a free and secure tool that researchers use to invite volunteers to take part in their health research studies. ResearchMatch has a simple goal to bring together people who are trying to find research studies, and researchers who are looking for people to participate in their studies.

People of all ages and health conditions, including healthy people, are welcome to join. Volunteers under the age of 18 must be registered by a parent or guardian. Registration lets you indicate your willingness to be contacted about studies that may be a good fit for you. Your name and personal information are not released to any research team until you indicate you would like to know more about their research study.

Studies submitted to ResearchMatch must qualify as clinical and translational research with health-related outcomes. These are outcomes that “reflect the effect of one or more interventions on human subjects’ biomedical or behavioral status or quality of life.” Examples include changes to physiological, biological or psychological factors or health-related behaviors.

How do I sign up to be a volunteer participant on ResearchMatch?

Interested volunteers create a profile with their basic health information. This allows researchers to search for potential participants that meet certain criteria. The potential participant will be sent the IRB approved message about the study and can then choose whether to provide their contact information to the researcher.

Individuals interested in joining the registry to learn more and to consider participating in research may sign up through the ResearchMatch website.