Wheaton Eye Clinic has decades of clinical research experience. We are dedicated to research endeavors because we know they improve eye health throughout the world. Additionally, our Clinic patients can benefit from many advanced treatments before they are generally available. Our commitment to excellence is rigorously practiced in all trial phases, including investigational studies currently underway at Wheaton Eye Clinic.
Clinical research is a unique aspect of medicine at the Wheaton Eye Clinic and one to which we are strongly committed. In the field of eye care, our physicians join the work of like-minded colleagues in an effort to advance the practice of medicine and care for the patients we serve, on a local level with global reach.
Clinical trials are research studies performed with human subjects to test and evaluate the effectiveness and safety of new medications, medical devices or specific procedures and treatments. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires clinical trials before it approves any new medication for physicians to prescribe to patients.
People who participate in clinical trials receive several important benefits. They play an active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments and contribute to medical research. Some trials may offer additional benefits such as diagnostic testing, study medication and physician care, as well as compensation for time and travel expenses.
All clinical trials have guidelines about who can participate. Research studies at the Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic (CRC-WEC) are open to the public. However, not all people diagnosed with a particular condition, who apply to a Wheaton Eye Clinic study, will qualify.
Years of dedicated clinical research at Wheaton Eye Clinic result in consistently advanced, cost effective eye care for clinic patients. Participants play an active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available, and help others by contributing to medical research. Clinical trials improve the quality of patient eye care worldwide.
The Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic (CRC-WEC) enjoys all the advantages of being affiliated with the largest private ophthalmology clinic in Illinois. Located in the Chicago suburbs, the 65-year-old Wheaton Eye Clinic provides care in all 12 ophthalmic subspecialties to more than 125,000 patients each year.
For the past 20 years, investigators and staff at Wheaton Eye Clinic have conducted trials in Phases II-IV. Believing strongly that training and education are the best way to ensure ethical, high quality and efficient clinical research trials, all research physicians, ophthalmic technicians, coordinators and staff are trained in GCP and compliance with federal research regulations and guidelines.
Kristen Andrews, the Clinical Research Manager of the Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic, is certified through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.
Kristen Andrews, CCRC, is Clinical Research Manager of the Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic.
Throughout her career Ms. Andrews has worked for a variety of clinical research sites as well as a site management organization. Her therapeutic areas of experience include ophthalmology, dermatology, pediatrics, asthma and allergy, internal medicine, gastroenterology and cardiology. She has conducted over 100 trials in Phases II-IV.
Ms. Andrews holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Northwestern University and completed additional coursework at the University of Illinois, Chicago and Harvard University. In 1997 she became a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP).
CRC-WEC strives to consistently meet or exceed enrollment targets and capture accurate, high quality data while maintaining superior standards of care in accordance with FDA regulations and ICH/GCP guidelines.
Investigators at the Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic successfully plan and implement patient studies in any one of three clinical trial phases. The clinical trial team includes doctors and ophthalmic technicians who check the health of participants at the beginning of the trial, give instructions for continued participation in the trial and carefully monitor the participants during the trial.
The clinical trial process depends on the kind of trial being conducted. The clinical trial team includes doctors and ophthalmic technicians or technicians who check the health of the participant at the beginning of the trial, give instructions for continued participation in the trial and carefully monitor the participant during the trial.
Every clinical trial follows a carefully controlled protocol, a study plan which details what researchers will do in the study. As a clinical trial progresses, researchers report the results of the trial at scientific meetings, to medical journals and to various government agencies.
To protect the privacy and safety of study participants, all names remain secret and are never mentioned in any reports or presentations. In addition, ethical and legal codes that govern medical practice also apply to clinical trials. The rights of study participants are fully protected.
Clinical trials are conducted in four phases. Each phase has a different purpose and helps scientists answer different questions.
Phase I: A small group of healthy people (20-80) test an experimental drug or treatment for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range and identify side effects.
Phase II: People with a disease are given the experimental drug or treatment in order to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety. Phase II trials involve a larger group of between 100 and 300 people and study results begin to be published.
Phase III: At this point the experimental study drug or treatment is given to large groups of people (1,000-3,000). Studies at this phase confirm the drug’s effectiveness in addition to determining drug interactions and side effects and comparing it to commonly used treatments. After completion of all Phase III studies, all of the data from all Phases are submitted to the FDA to begin the approval process.
Phase IV: This clinical trial phase occurs after FDA approval in order to continue gathering information which will help identify the drug’s risks, benefits and optimal use.
An investigational medication for viral pink eye is currently being studied at Wheaton Eye Clinic. Eligible participants must be at least 6 years old with the symptoms of pink eye (red, irritated eyes) in at least one eye for three days or less. Study participants receive several important benefits at no cost.
Many breakthroughs in disease prevention and treatment in the last half-century would never have come to pass had it not been for the willing participation of research subjects. But clinical research is not always intended to find the next “blockbuster”. There are many ongoing needs for objective studies of the benefits and safety of existing medications or treatments. Today 4,000 experimental drug therapies are in active clinical trials. This number is bound to increase in order to keep pace with ongoing medical innovations.
As with all scientific endeavors, the clinical research process is highly structured. It is managed by clinical researchers who are educated, experienced and competent in the use of specific research protocols. These protocols, or study plans, detail exactly what researchers will do in each and every study. In addition, all clinical research studies are overseen by several independent regulatory bodies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as smaller Independent Review Boards. Many built-in safeguards protect study volunteers and all ethical and legal codes that govern medical practice also apply to clinical trials.
The Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic is currently conducting clinical trials in the following areas:
When pink eye is caused by an infection from a virus, antibiotics are ineffective. In fact, there has never been a medication that successfully treats the viral pink eye. But that could change. The Eyenovation clinical research trial is currently evaluating an investigational medication for viral pink eye.
Eyenovation could be right for you. If you or your child have had the symptoms of pink eye (red, irritated eyes) in at least one eye for three days or less, and are at least 6 years old, you may be eligible to participate.
As a participant, you may receive (at no cost)
The Clinical Research Center of Wheaton Eye Clinic is currently recruiting patients for the following research studies:
For further information contact the Clinical Research Hotline at 630.890.5865.
Wheaton Eye Clinic’s unparalleled commitment to excellence is evident in our continued growth. Today we provide world-class medical and surgical care to patients in six suburban locations—Wheaton, Naperville, Hinsdale, Plainfield, St. Charles, and Bartlett.
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