Resources & Archives

Join a Human Study

(Winter 2002) — How can you help animals and advance medical research? Participate in human research. NEAVS staff and volunteers have participated in a range of human studies. More than a decade ago, as a student at Syracuse University, a current NEAVS staffer decided to participate in a human study when a vivisector with whom she had a civil yet oppositional dialogue suggested she join one. The research involved developing a device that would give hand sensations to people with hearing impairments as a way for them to "hear" via the "language" of vibrations. A perk to her participation was that she got paid.

One of NEAVS’ volunteers has joined human studies that have included research about memory, periodontal disease, depression, and sleep. As a diabetic, in one study he took an inhaled powder as a substitute for traditional injected insulin before every meal. The goal of the research was to find another agent that could keep blood sugar steadier than injectable insulin.

Recently, a NEAVS staffer joined a Boston study to probe the nature of brain dysfunction in people living with HIV. The research involved 150 HIV- positive individuals and 50 HIV-negative controls. As one of the 50 controls, she underwent a three-hour verbal and tactile cognitive test and then a two-hour fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scan of her brain while she answered questions.

Interested in being part of a human study? Many newspapers advertise them. Or give your local teaching hospital and university science departments a call. By participating in human research you supply the medical research community with a much better model of human anatomy, behavior, and physiology than will any other species. And according to today’s medical research ethics, by virtue of your humanness, you always have the right to leave an experiment at any time. So if human subjects feel claustrophobic in an fMRI machine, they could simply press the alarm button and get out. Sadly, for nearly all animals in medical research, the only escape they’ll ever get is death.

Human clinical trials, epidemiological studies and other non-animal research will provide us with valid and valuable information and will provide the animals with freedom.

Have you participated in a human medical study? Tell us about your experience. Contact NEAVS at 617-523-6020 x 17 or meverett@ma.neavs.com.

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The State of the Anti-Vivisection Movement in America