Recruitment

The Consortium on Aging is pleased to work with investigators who wish to recruit subjects for clinical research.

RICE UNIVERSITY - INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY

You are invited to participate in a research study that is being conducted by a team from Rice University. Stephanie Leal, PhD, the Director of the Neuroscience of Memory and Aging Lab, is the Principal Investigator.

More information is included below. To sign up for the research study, please email the Lab Manager, Amritha Harikumar, at memory@rice.edu; if you have additional questions, please call 713-348-8164 (lab manager phone).

STUDY PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to learn how memories are formed and retrieved, as well as the different brain structures involved in these processes. We are also interested in understanding the impact that retirement has on cognition and memory.

WHAT AM I BEING ASKED TO DO?

We are recruiting healthy older adults that are retired (age 50+) to undergo cognitive and behavioral testing, which involves computerized tasks, questionnaires, and paper and pencil tasks of cognition (attention, memory, processing speed, etc.). We will compensate you $15/hr. The study may last 1-3 hours depending on the study. All studies are being conducted remotely on Zoom at this time.

Confidentiality: All material is confidential; your participation is coded by a subject ID, never your name.

Study Time: Your participation will take approximately 2.5 hours.
Study Location: Your participation is entirely web-based via Zoom. We will send you the Zoom link as well as a link to the consent form and other study information the day of the study. Reminders will also be sent prior to the study date.
Compensation: Compensation is $15/hour.
Benefits: There will be no direct benefit to you for participating in this study; however, this study may benefit society if the results lead to a better understanding of how our brain learns and processes information. In addition, results from this study may lead to a better understanding of memory impairments and may be helpful in targeting therapeutic interventions to treat disorders involving memory such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

Thank you for considering participating in the research study.

This research study has been reviewed and approved by Rice University Institutional Review Board. If you have concerns regarding this study or questions regarding your rights as a study participant, please contact a Rice IRB Administrator. Email: irb@rice.edu or Telephone: 713-348-3586

Process for Recruitment of Subjects for Clinical Research

The Investigator sends the IRB-approved application and the approval letter to the Administrative Director of the Consortium on Aging.

Note: UTHealth, MHH (Memorial Hermann Health System), and HHS (Harris Health System) rely on the UTHealth Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) for all IRB approval. When the Investigator applies for CPHS review, they complete the MHH form and choose all MHH institutions from which they intend to recruit subjects.
The Executive Committee of the Consortium on Aging screens the study to assure it is in alignment with the mission of the Consortium.
If approved, the investigator will meet with the coordinator of each clinic from which subjects are to be recruited to specify the procedures.
When procedures have been satisfactorily established, the investigator will develop a brief description of the study and send to the Administrative Director who will inform the faculty contacts.
The Investigator must obtain approval from the faculty clinicians before they approach their patients.