ABSTRACT
Clinical research is a vital component of our nation’s notable improvement of health care. Consider where we would be without the medical advances that we all take for granted-vaccinations for our children, insulin for control of diabetes, pacemakers for people with cardiac arrhythmias, among others. These developments required years of research by dedicated scientists and clinicians. The fight against cancer is another example; in the 1960s, children with acute lymphocytic leukemia had little chance of survival. Now, with sophisticated chemotherapy, many of these children can live to become active, productive adults. The twenty-first century has dawned with a new arena of research-genetic research. With the successful mapping of the human genome, phenomenal implications in the treatment and prevention of diseases are on the horizon and will be our newest research challenge. Significant strides have been made, but it is clear that there is much clinical research work ahead.
