NEI's clinical studies have been instrumental in helping drive evidence-based best practices in vision care — from finding new ways to test and treat eye diseases to figuring out that some common treatments don't work well. NEI's clinical studies on different eye diseases and conditions have led to new treatments.
By joining a clinical trial, you could help improve eye care for countless people in the future.
Learn about clinical studies
Find out about the different types of studies, the benefits and risks, and what to expect when you participate.
Learn more about current clinical trials studying new treatments.
Visit the Eye Clinic
NEI’s Eye Clinic hosts many clinical trials on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. Get directions, phone numbers, and other important information about the Eye Clinic.
Find a clinical study
Before joining a clinical study, it’s important to talk to your doctor about whether the study is right for you.
- To find out about clinical studies at NEI and other NIH institutes, visit the NIH Clinical Center website or call 1-800-411-1222. Most NIH studies take place in Bethesda, MD.
- To search for clinical studies across the United States and around the world, visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
Refer a patient to a clinical study
If you are a physician interested in referring a patient to the NEI for a study, please call the Recruitment Coordinator at (301) 402-4726.
If there is an NEI investigator with the appropriate expertise, we can evaluate the patient to see if they qualify for an NIH clinical study. If the patient doesn’t qualify, NEI won’t be able to treat them.
Apply for funding to conduct a clinical study
Learn about funding opportunities at NEI and find out how to apply.
See the results of clinical studies
Learn about 2 of the major NEI clinical studies: the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and the AREDS2 follow-up study. These studies showed that certain nutritional supplements can lower the risk of advanced AMD and its associated vision loss.
See millions of journal articles published in more than 5,000 journals.