Studies and Trials Overview

Clinical study involves research using human volunteers (also called participants) that is intended to add to medical knowledge. There are two main types of clinical studies: clinical trials (also called interventional studies) and observational studies.

In a clinical trial, participants receive specific interventions according to the research plan or protocol created by the investigators. These interventions may be medical products, such as drugs or devices; procedures; or changes to participants' behavior, such as diet. Clinical trials may compare a new medical approach to a standard one that is already available, to a placebo that contains no active ingredients, or to no intervention. Some clinical trials compare interventions that are already available to each other.

When a new product or approach is being studied, it is not usually known whether it will be helpful, harmful, or no different than available alternatives (including no intervention). The investigators try to determine the safety and efficacy of the intervention by measuring certain outcomes in the participants.

Find Studies and Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov

TrialsToday.org

Additional Resources

Questions to Ask Yourself - download pdf

Educational Videos

Current Funded Research

Summary of Current Funded Research

2023 FUNDING CYCLE:

2022 FUNDING CYCLE:

$25,000 to Mt. Sinai Medical Center
To assess the feasibility of high-field 7-Tesla (7T) MRI to predict facial nerve location, attenuation, and degree of involvement with respect to the vestibular schwannoma using DTI tractography and compare it to published rates for similar studies using lower-strength magnets.

$24,908 to Washington University in St. Louis
To study a cohort of 1,500+ patients with vestibular schwannoma to better define Quality of Life (QOL) relevant to vestibular schwannoma management. 

$25,000 to University of California San Diego Health
To profile and compare the genetic characteristics of latent and growing vestibular schwannomas using RNA and whole exome sequencing.

$25,000 to University of California, San Francisco
To develop a mobile app program with machine-learning enhanced capabilities to guide facial therapy.

AUG 2021
Emory University: $21,002
“Circulating Tumor DNA as a Minimally Invasive Biomarker in Patients with Vestibular Schwannoma.”  

AUG 2021
UCLA: $14,528  **COMPLETED**
"Epithelial Membrane Protein 2 as a Biomarker and Therapeutic Target for Vestibular Schwannoma." 

AUG 2021
Keck School of Medicine, USC: $25,000
"Ultra-high Field 7T Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Predictive Localization of the Facial Nerve in the Presence of Large Vestibular Schwannoma."

AUG 2020
Mayo Clinic: $24,000   **COMPLETED**
“Development and Validation of a New Disease-Specific Quality of Life Index for Sporadic Vestibular Schwannoma.”

MAY 2019
Keck School of Medicine, USC: $25,000  **COMPLETED**
“Single-Cell RNA Transcriptome and DNE Copy Number Variation Sequencing of Vestibular Schwannoma.”

For Researchers

The Acoustic Neuroma Association posts information about medical studies and trials which may be of interest to acoustic neuroma patients or caregivers. If you are interested in adding a research study to our website and discussing ways we can help you recruit participants through our patient base, please contact Melanie Hutchins at volunteers@anausa.org to request information about the ANA’s website listing criteria and fee schedule. Listings can be for online and/or in-person research studies that have obtained IRB approval.  

ANA Advancing Research

The ANA has, and continues to build strong relationships within the medical and research community. We partner with experts in the field who share their knowledge and research through our website, social media platforms, and in NOTES, our quarterly newsletter.

The ANA co-sponsors programs at medical centers and with researcher / scientists around the country, hosts in-person patient education conferences, webinars, virtual support group meetings, and Facebook Live events.

In addition, every year we invest in cutting-edge research, providing seed money to top medical centers, doctors, and scientists who are conducting innovative and original research projects. These include studies related to AN causes and quality-of-life issues such as balance, hearing and tinnitus, amongst others.
More information on our Research Grant Program is available here.

If you have any questions, please contact Jim Shea, ANA CEO, at director@anausa.org.