COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus): Please click here for FAQs: Impact of COVID-19 on Human Subjects Research

For Community Members

At Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical Campus, we need your help to guide research around the health of our patients and communities. We seek to partner with our community members in our research. As a partner in research, your voice represents the needs and viewpoints of your community. Our researchers rely on partners like you to plan and carry out research. Please call (617) 638-8036 or email us at ccr@bmc.org for more information.

Jump to a section: How do I get involved? | Why should I get involved? | Who are we?

How do I get involved?

Become a Research Advocate – We offer trainings to community members about getting involved in research. Contact us for more information.
Participate in a study – Please click here to learn more about participating in a study.
Join our Institutional Review Board (IRB) – An IRB is a group of people who review research to make sure it is ethical and safe. Our IRB needs community members to serve on the IRB and provide their opinions. Please click here to learn more about volunteering with the IRB, and call or email the IRB at 617-358-5372 or medirb@bu.edu for more information.

Why should I get involved?

You are an expert on your community. Beyond finding volunteers to participate in a research study, researchers also need advice from community members on many questions, including:

- - What are the most important health issues to study?
  - What are respectful ways for researchers to partner with communities?
  - What languages do researchers need to support?
  - How should researchers recruit community members to participate?
  - What are the best ways to tell communities about study results?

Research involving our diverse community is one important way to improve the health of our family, friends, and neighbors. If we don’t include everyone in research, new scientific discoveries may not be relevant to each of us. Your input can help address our most pressing health issues.

Who are we?

Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a not-for-profit hospital located in Boston’s South End. The hospital provides care to patients throughout their lives, from primary care to specialty care. BMC’s mission is to provide consistently excellent and accessible health services to all in need of care regardless of status or ability to pay.

Boston University Medical Campus
The Boston University Medical Campus in the South End includes the Boston University School of Medicine, the Boston University School of Public Health, the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences of the School of Medicine.

Our Community
Boston Medical Center is the main teaching affiliate of the Boston University School of Medicine. As an academic health center, BMC teaches the next generation of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. In addition, BMC and its partners conduct studies to find solutions to today’s gravest health problems. Studies can vary widely and cover many different health issues.

The Boston HealthNet is a network including BMC, 14 community health centers (CHCs), and Boston University School of Medicine. Our geographic service area includes the neighborhoods represented by Boston HealthNet health centers. This area encompasses East Boston, South Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, South End, Mattapan, Roslindale, East Boston, and the city of Quincy. Together, Boston HealthNet partners provide outreach, prevention, primary care, specialty care, and dental services at sites throughout Boston and Quincy. Patients receiving primary care at HealthNet sites in the community also have access to specialty services at BMC.

The goal of the Boston University Clinical and Translation Science Institute (BU CTSI) is to maximize the impact of research done in our community. For instance, it can take decades for a new discovery to finally benefit patients and communities. The BU-CTSI works to speed up that process. A key part of the BU CTSI’s strategy involvescommunity engagement.