We have an number of active clinical trials that are current enrolling participants.

The ATTEND and RECOVER studies can be completed online from anywhere in the US. The ATTEND study is recruiting healthcare workers and first responders, while the RECOVER study is recruiting adults age 21-65 with OR without a history of COVID-19 exposure:

• The ReCOVer study: Why do some people experience persistent symptoms after COVID-19 infection? Some of these symptoms may be related to changes in our body’s stress-response systems, similar to those which can occur after a traumatic brain injury or a trauma. In this study, we are recruiting adults with or without a history of COVID-19 infection, and with or without persistent symptoms. Participants from across the United States are invited to participate in online surveys and associated online cognitive testing. Individuals in the Seattle area with significant persistent post-COVID symptoms may be invited to participate in an in-person assessment of autonomic nervous system functioning, sleep structure, and cognitive function.

• The ATTEND study: Healthcare workers and first responders working during the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced increased exposure to suffering and loss, prolonged work hours, and increased personal risk. This study focuses on understanding what specific experiences or types of distress are most closely associated with negative outcomes over time – and what interventions are most likely to protect healthcare workers and first responders. Initial results have been reported (selected):

• 1. Initial results are open access in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (prior: MedRxiv)
  2. Crosscut: Despite vaccines, WA health care workers struggle with burnout
  3. PEW Trusts: ‘Why Do I Put My Life on the Line?’ Pandemic Trauma Haunts Health Workers
  4. The Seattle Times: 1 in 5 nurses say they’ll quit their careers as pandemic takes steep toll on mental health

The PREDICT study and the IRIS study are recruiting Veterans in the Seattle area:

• The PREDICT study: This is a 5-year clinical trial designed to address two major goals. First, to test the ability of clinically-relevant biomarkers to predict in advance which individuals with PTSD are likely to respond to treatment with the medication prazosin and which individual will not. And second, to test a working model of how pre-synaptic and post-synaptic changes in the regulation of noradrenaline may combine together to produce the symptoms of PTSD. The goal of this portion of the work is to facilitate the development of new, more effective options for treatment and/or preventing PTSD.
• The IRIS study: This is a one-day translational study in Veterans with and without PTSD, which is designed to test the relationship between physiological measurements of the reactivity of the central and peripheral noradrenergic system, and clinical symptoms such as sleep problems or PTSD.

We are currently in the preliminary stages of preparing to study the impact of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD on both the core, diagnostic symptoms of PTSD, as well as on the less studied physiologic changes associated with traumatic stress, such as changes in sleep structure and autonomic and cardiovascular functioning. This project is not seeking participants at this time.

The PoND studies are being carried out in collaboration with Drs. Murray Raskind and Elaine Peskind in the NW Network MIRECC:

• The PoND studies: The PoND studies (“Prevention of Neurodegeneration and Dementia”) are two closely related studies designed to test the impact of pharmacologic modulation of sleep on CSF biomarkers of neurodegeneration and dementia. Participants can be Veterans with a history of TBI and/or PTSD, or older individuals interested in supporting research into ways to prevent Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.