Once we arrived at the Clinical Research Center, Joy Lilljedahl prepared us for the morning and gave us the schedule. We first met Mr. and Mrs. Foster, who gave us a patient's perspective on clinical trials and what it's like to be involved.

After that, Dr. Boisaubin told us about informed consent and the other factors of his job as a patient's advocate. He explained the evolution of the concept and legal boundaries of consent. Informed consent consists of disclosure, understanding, volunteering, competence, and consent.

Dr. Pablo Okuysen discussed how clinical trials are carried out, the difference between industry-initiated and investigator-initiated trials, and how new drugs are developed and tested.

Clinical trial patients are recruited by physicians, by invitation to hospital patients, or by volunteering.

In drug development, a pool of possible compounds is identified. A target disease is chosen and tested for positive reactions. Next is a pre-clinical test for toxicity in animals. In phase 1 of clinical trials (pilot study) healthy volunteers are tested for toxicity. In phase 2, the safety and effectiveness of the compound is studied in 30-40 patients with the targeted disease. In phase 3, large-scale studies are carried out. Finally, in phase 4, post-market studies are done to check for side effects. It takes up to 12 years and between $4 and $20 million dollars to develop one drug.

Next, Joy came back and explained how they administer research studies, track grants, and do all the necessary paperwork to assure that everything is done in a safe and responsible way as laid out by regulations and laws.

Finally, Dr. Nai-Hui Chiu gave us a brief tour of the facility.

Friday afternoon, Dr. Franklin returned and presented on the cognitive development of the adolescent brain.