We will conduct a pilot study to test feasibility of an innovative light device and blue-light glasses for promoting better sleep and a novel, smart water bottle for proper hydration. We will also examine women’s sleep and hydration behaviors in relation to their perceptions of pain, and obtain feedback from the participants on the overall patient intervention content to reduce prescription opioid use and promote behavioral pain management strategies after delivery.

Currently recruiting pregnant women who are in their 2nd or 3rd trimester. Attend a pre-session (in person OR remote) to explain the use of the water bottle, lighting devices, activity monitors, and weight scale Use the devices for 22 days and complete surveys in your own home Attend a post-session (in person OR remote) to return devices and participate an interview about the last 22 days

$100

The objective of this research is to determine the relationship between aircraft seat width and passenger comfort. Airlines are reducing the sizes of seats and improving their ability to fly planes at or near capacity. The combined effect is to decrease the quality of the experience of passengers. This work will help us to understand the degree to which comfort has been reduced.

Participants visit once, for about an hour. During that visit we will measure several body dimensions. Then the participant will evaluate a number of seating conditions for comfort and acceptability.

$20

Emerging technologies, particularly in the semiconductor industry, are advancing at an extraordinary pace in the United States, creating an urgent demand for a highly skilled workforce. In 1990, the U.S. held 37% of the global semiconductor manufacturing market; today, that share has sharply declined to just 12% (MASH, 2024). Meanwhile, most semiconductor production has moved overseas, with Taiwan alone accounting for nearly 60% of global output. This concentration of manufacturing capacity in East Asia is increasingly concerning, especially given China’s strategic goal to secure Taiwan by 2030. As such, the U.S. semiconductor supply chain has become a critical national security issue, further emphasizing the immediate need to rebuild a robust domestic manufacturing workforce. To reverse this trend, it is estimated that the U.S. will need an additional 230,000 skilled workers to double its semiconductor market share and regain competitiveness on the global stage (Lightcast, 2023). Achieving this goal requires a significant investment in education and training programs. The HI-TECH (High-Impact Technology Experiential Career Hub) program directly addresses this challenge by offering 75 recent graduates from Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs summer internships in the semiconductor industry over the next three years. These internships will provide invaluable hands-on experience, positioning participants for lucrative, high-demand careers in this vital and rapidly expanding sector. Through this initiative, HI-TECH aims to play a key role in strengthening the U.S. workforce, enhancing national security, and securing America’s future competitiveness in the global semiconductor market.

Participants will be asked to complete an online survey (15-20 minutes) about their experiences with CTE programs, employment in the semiconductor industry, and workforce readiness. Some participants may also be invited to participate in a 30-45 minute interview (conducted via Zoom) to provide further insights.

This study will be a pilot study to evaluate the workability, safety and acceptability of Exercise and Liver FITness (EL-FIT), a mHealth exercise training program previously confirmed in patients with cirrhosis,(1) in patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

El-Fit NASH (Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis) is a 9-week intervention trial for patients with NASH. Our goal is to evaluate the workability, safety and acceptability of Exercise and Liver FITness (EL-FIT), a mHealth exercise training program. The El-FIT application allows for participants to access to a library of guided workouts. All patients will be asked to complete a screening visit that includes a physical exam, height, and weight measurements & surveys. Participants will be asked to download the EL-Fit NASH application and use it for 8 weeks. In addition to using the application, participants will be asked to complete 3 check-in phone calls through-out the 8 weeks.

this trial is looking at introducing a medication to control blood sugars elevations caused by CDK inhibitors.

Participants must agree to come to all study visits, report any new medications to the study team, agree to having blood work done at least 8-12 hours after eating something, take study medication as directed.

Up to 50 older adults (age 60+ years) will participate in a two-visit CRC study with blood sampling (40 ml per visit) occurring before and after a breakfast meal. Specifically, there will be four (10 ml) blood draws during each of the visits, with each blood draw timed one hour apart (T1 to T4). The two visits (short- and long-fasting) will be randomly assigned and counterbalanced for the order in which they occur and will occur at least a week apart. During the short-fasting visit, participants will arrive fasting and be given breakfast after the second blood draw (T2). During the long-fasting visit, participants will arrive fasting and be given breakfast after the fourth blood draw (T4). Aside from blood draws, and vitals obtained at the start of each visit, participants will be seated comfortably in a chair in a small room by themselves. They will be checked upon periodically to ensure they are not falling asleep, they are comfortable, etc. They will also be given a small packet of written questionnaires to complete after T1 and after T3 (i.e., after the 1st and 3rd blood draws). Each visit will be between 3.5 and 4 hours.

There will be two in-person visits both will include four blood draws.

$100 total

This trial is using long course chemoradiation in combination with three different chemotherapy treatments to treat rectal cancer. Once therapy is completed patients will either have surgery or watch and wait. The goal is to see which therapy is better in achieving a complete response, if any.

Patients will be expected to come to the clinic for all radiation treatments and all chemotherapy treatments.

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual approach of chemo/radiation followed by one year of MEDI4736 (durvalumab) to chemo/radiation with MEDI4736 (durvalumab) followed by one year of MEDI4736 (durvalumab). The addition of MEDI4736 (durvalumab) during chemo/radiation could prevent your cancer from returning and extend your life. But, it could also cause side effects. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better, the same, or worse than the usual approach. To decide if it is better, the study doctors will be looking to see if the study drug extends the life of patients and/or prevents the tumor from coming back as compared to the usual approach. This drug, MEDI4736 (durvalumab), is already approved by the FDA for use in other cancers, and for use in your type of cancer after the completion of chemotherapy and radiation. At this time MEDI4736 (durvalumab) is not yet approved (experimental) when given with chemotherapy and radiation. There will be about 660 people taking part in this study.

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual approach of chemo/radiation followed by one year of MEDI4736 (durvalumab) to chemo/radiation with MEDI4736 (durvalumab) followed by one year of MEDI4736 (durvalumab). The addition of MEDI4736 (durvalumab) during chemo/radiation could prevent your cancer from returning and extend your life. But, it could also cause side effects. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better, the same, or worse than the usual approach. To decide if it is better, the study doctors will be looking to see if the study drug extends the life of patients and/or prevents the tumor from coming back as compared to the usual approach. This drug, MEDI4736 (durvalumab), is already approved by the FDA for use in other cancers, and for use in your type of cancer after the completion of chemotherapy and radiation. At this time MEDI4736 (durvalumab) is not yet approved (experimental) when given with chemotherapy and radiation. There will be about 660 people taking part in this study.

The overall goal of this proposal is to develop robots that can help people correctly calibrate their trust in the robot. We look at this problem within the context of robot-guided emergency evacuation. We believe that robots stationed inside of buildings can serve as instantaneous first responders helping people safely evacuate during an emergency, thus saving lives. Participants will be asked to interact with an emergency guidance robot and decide whether to follow the robot to an exit.

The purpose of this study is to find genetic causes of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). RPL is defined by two or more miscarriages under 20 weeks gestation and affects approximately 5% of women. The causes of RPL are not well understood. After all the currently recommended testing for RPL has been done, about half of women with RPL will still have no identifiable cause. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult to provide effective medical care for couples with RPL. This study will compare reading about 20000 genes in the entire human genetic library by whole genome sequencing in the miscarriage material and also your and your partner’s DNA from blood samples. The DNA in a person is a combination of the DNA from each of their biological parents. If you have healthy children we may ask your consent for them to give a blood sample for DNA extraction and testing. Similarly, we may ask the same for other family members such as grandparents if necessary. We may also request your permission to use stored DNA or miscarriage material from previous pregnancy loss if available. Testing of family members or previous miscarriage materials may help to understand DNA sequence variants or changes identified in the miscarriage sample.

There will be a one time collection of blood samples.

This study will follow symptomatic ALS participants and control participants for 2 years, measuring a wide range of ALS outcome measures and gathering long term survival data.

Study visits will be conducted both in an in-clinic setting (on-site) and remotely (off-site) over the course of 24 months (2 years). The symptomatic ALS cohort participants can either participate in on-site or off-site visits, depending on their location and ease of access to one of the participating sites. During this 2-year period, symptomatic ALS participants will complete a screening visit (2-3 hours to complete), a total of 7 in-person study visits (1-3 hours to complete) and 24 remote self-assessment activities (completed each month, takes 35-45 minutes to complete). Participants and will need access to a personal device (i.e. a computer and/or smartphone or tablet) and an internet connection to participate in this study. All control participants will participate on-site, completing their on-site visits every 12 months. Biospecimens will be collected at regular intervals to support biofluid biomarker analyses. Biospecimens will include plasma, serum, whole blood for generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and DNA for whole genome sequencing, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). For on-site symptomatic ALS and control participants, CSF will be collected through optional Lumbar Puncture (LP) procedure. Only plasma, serum and whole blood will be collected for off-site participants through home phlebotomy collection process.

Up to $350

Endometriosis, is a disorder that occurs in women, is when tissue that should be normally found inside the womb is also found in sites outside of the womb. This disorder impairs the function of the endothelium, the cells that line the body’s blood vessels (endothelium). The endothelium helps to control blood flow in healthy vessels. Women with this disorder not only have an increased risk for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, they also have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. They have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, too. With this study, we will learn how endometriosis impairs the lining of blood vessels and increases the risk for disease. We will test two different intervention strategies to reduce long-term cardiovascular disease risk in women with endometriosis.

There will be 3 in person visits, blood draws will occur at all visits. On 2 of the visits blood flow experiments will be conducted. Participants will take oral medications.

390

This study will examine different structural designs of stretchable, skin-like sensors on the surface of human skin for workers.

There will be one in person visit; Subjects will first be asked to sit still for 3 minutes and then move their skin by the research team for another 3 minutes.

This is a voice perception study that asks participants to listen to voices and rate on various attributes such as attractiveness, social status, health, and others.

Study of the safety of unlicensed cord blood units for stem cell transplant of children and adults.

For the treatment arm of this study you will no receive the total body radiation (TBI) as typically given before transplant. In this study you will have various research procedures such as a Blast sample at the screening part of the study, and MRD testing of your bone marrow and blood at screening and through the course of the study. Participation in the treatment arm (Non-TBI) of the study will last up to 5 years.

The main purpose of the proposed study is to examine the relationship between emotional body expression and internal emotional and psychophysiological processes among individuals with mental disorders in social interaction situations.

In this study, participants will be asked to answer structured questions. After this, participants will be asked to engage in emotional induction tasks, communicate with another person, and walk. During the interview and experimental procedures, your motion will be video recorded.  

40

The study aims to use a longitudinal design that combines transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) sensors and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in a sample of college and non-college young adults to examine the associations between TAC features (such as rise rate and duration), alcohol-related consequences, and alcohol use disorder (AUD), when adjusting for EMA self-reported indicators (such as drink counts, estimated BAC).

If eligible, participants will be invited to be part of a study that will take place over two years. Every 6 months, participants will be asked to wear a small biosensor on their wrist and complete mobile phone surveys for three consecutive weeks. Participants will also be asked to complete a 20-minute survey and a 15-minute interview at baseline, 12-month, and 24-month follow-ups. Participants can earn up to $776 over the course of the two-year period. 

776

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects, good and/or bad, of chemotherapy and radiation therapy with or without the use of atezolizumab, which is used to treat bladder cancer. The combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and the immunotherapy atezolizumab is considered experimental.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects, good and/or bad, of chemotherapy and radiation therapy with or without the use of atezolizumab, which is used to treat bladder cancer. The combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and the immunotherapy atezolizumab is considered experimental. If you decide to take part in this study, you will receive combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy which is called “chemoradiotherapy” either with or without the study drug. The chemoradiotherapy you will receive is standard of care and what your doctor thinks is best. You will receive chemoradiotherapy for up to 7 weeks. If you are assigned to the group receiving study drug, you will take the drug for up to 6 months in addition the chemoradiotherapy. Your doctor will continue to follow your condition for up to 5 years after you register to the study, even though you have finished treatment in the first year. Your doctor will watch you for side effects and to see how your cancer affects you. You will have clinic visits at 3 months from the time you stop taking treatment for the first two years and then twice a year for the third year and once a year thereafter until 5 years after you register to the study

This is a Phase 2 drug study, using a precision medicine approach to treat a chronic liver disease called Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) in individuals at increased genetic risk for this condition. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of the study drug, ALN-HSD, on the histopathologic (liver biopsy) assessment of liver fibrosis. The study has a screening period of up to 12 weeks (day -84 to -1) (which includes a genetic pre-screening assessment, double-blind placebo-controlled treatment period of 52 weeks (day 1 to 365), and an off-drug safety follow-up period of 32 weeks (day 366 to 589). In total, the study duration is approximately 100 weeks. The study drug, or placebo, would be administered subcutaneously (through a fine needle in the belly) every 4 weeks, for a total of 13 doses. During the course of the study, there will be approximately 20 visits, which will take place in the clinical research center of our hospital. At these visits, participants will receive the injections, and be evaluated for vital signs, have regular bloodwork, receive a physical, and answer questions about their well being.

There will be up to 20 in person visits. The screening visits will include bloodwork, vitals, body measurements, and some additional scans. After randomization, each visit will occur approximately every two weeks and will include blood work and a physical at each visit, in addition to the administration of the study drug.

$2548

This is an online survey study that examines factors impacting people’s COVID-19 vaccination decision-making. In the survey, participants will answer various questions about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, such as their personal experience, their perception and knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines.

We are conducting this study to investigate whether different platforms of immersive technology influence the experiences of users when interacting with an embodied conversational agent. We are particularly interested in studying the effects of platform on users’ feelings of presence and social presence when comparing virtual and mixed reality environments.

The purpose of this feeding study is to examine if there is a difference in the effect of feeding a very low carbohydrate diet to people with normal weight and people with obesity. Participants will be asked to eat a very low carbohydrate diet, also known as a ketogenic diet, for 28 days. This diet will be provided to participants and includes 3 meals, some snacks, and beverages daily. Measurements of blood markers (fats, sugar, insulin, cholesterol), blood pressure, heart health, and body composition will be done at the start and end of the study.

In this study, you will be asked to consume a ketogenic diet for 28 days. This diet will be provided to you and includes 3 meals, some snacks, and beverages daily. This diet will meet your energy and nutrient needs. You will be asked to not eat any foods outside of what is provided by the study and consume no alcohol. Testing will be conducted on two consecutive days at the start of the study and the end of the study (a total of 4 testing days). For these visits, you will need to fast for 12 hours prior and avoid alcohol for 48 hours prior. At these visits, we will take a blood draw, measure your body weight, body composition, and preform non-invasive tests to assess your heart health.

$150

The purpose of this study is to examine public attitudes and willingness to pay for bird conversation activities on private forest lands.

This behavioral study will examine the influence of pictorial primes on general knowledge questions. A participant will be shown a cartoon-type picture prior to the presentation of a question. They will be asked to answer the question verbally. This study aims to determine the influence of pictorial primes on memory recall and retrieval.

We are evaluating patients who have been infected with Babesia. Babesia is a blood parasite that is acquired from ticks. The number of cases seen in Pennsylvania every year has been increasing. We intend to evaluate the blood of patients acutely infected with Babesiosis and review for possible simultaneous co-infections. We will compare those infected patients with the blood of healthy individuals. The goal is to identify proteins in the blood of acutely infected patients that are specific for Babesia and also evaluate the prevalence of patient's who have contracted a co-infection from the tick vector that transmitted the Babesia infection. The identification of the specific bacterial/parasitic antigens could then be used to create rapid diagnostic tests and help clinicians increase awareness of these tick-borne diseases.

We will obtain basic demographic information and past medical history. We will obtain two 10ml samples of blood. The blood will then be stored and ultimately sent to Antigen Discovery, Inc for proteomic array screening.

Purpose of study is to examine lung cancer patients' surgically removed tumors for certain genetic changes and to possibly refer these patients to a treatment study with drugs that may specifically these tumors.

Patients will be registered to the trial after surgical intervention. One vial of peripheral blood and a tissue block (or scrolls) will be submitted to the study. Once testing is completed, subject is notified if they are eligible for one of the sub protocols.

This study looks at the relationship between motor control via. arm movement and visual stimuli. After participating in brief calibration protocol for the eye tracking system, participants will be moving a robotic handle to interact with visual stimuli during various tasks. Participants will spend approximately 2 hours in the lab.

There will be one approximately 2-hour visit. They will then be asked to complete 20-25 blocks of hand movements while looking at a moving virtual stimulus with a large visual background. Participants will receive regular breaks during the experiment.

$20

The purpose of this study is to gain a greater understanding of healthcare workers’ knowledge of and perception of dysphagia in older adults. Study participants will fill out a survey/questionnaire in a single study session. This is expected to take 15-20 minutes.

You will be asked to complete a single, brief survey. It will take no more than 15-20 minutes.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the condition of the patellar tendon with Ultrasound imaging. Ultrasound imaging will be explored as an accessible and non-invasive imaging modality to quantify tendon parameters (length, thickness, width, and neovascularization). Participants will sign informed consent and participate in an imaging session that will last approximately two hours. If the Ultrasound measurements prove feasible, they will provide insight into the biomechanical and biological mechanisms that contribute to tendon injury. It is important to understand how these parameters change among patients and healthy individuals with varying degrees of activity levels.

There will be one ultrasound session that will last approximately 2 hours. Ultrasound imaging will be performed at 342 Leonhard Building.

$20 gift card

This study tracks the eye movements of 30 adults to gather information on how they process sentences when presented in a context.