Intro:  Welcome to Ask A Scientist.  I’m Tanesha Nicole and I’m talking with Dr. Emily Limerick from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute about clinical trial safety.

TN: Dr. Limerick, how is a clinical trial participant’s safety ensured?

EL: There are laws and larger regulations that govern the ethical conduct of trials within institutions, there are institutional review boards whose job is to make sure the trials are conducted in ways that optimize patient safety.

TN: What about on the individual patient level?

EL: An important part of the participation is the informed consent process. It’s the responsibility of any investigator who is conducting a trial to make sure that everybody who is considering participating really understands why they’re doing the trial. 

TN: Is there anything else that adds to participant safety?

EL: Just the fact that clinical research is optional is an important aspect too.

Outro: For more on clinical trials, visit nhlbi.nih.gov.