Ask people to name America's medical research cities and Dallas rarely comes up. Yet on ClinicalTrials.gov it ranks fifth in the country for studies actively recruiting, about 1,550 of them, ahead of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Seattle. And one Dallas institution has produced six Nobel laureates, including the discovery that led to statins, the most prescribed class of medicines in the United States. This guide covers where the research happens in Dallas-Fort Worth, what it focuses on, and how to find a study you can reach.
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Where clinical trials happen in Dallas
The center of gravity is UT Southwestern Medical Center, the largest medical school in Texas, with more than 25,000 employees and about 5.3 million outpatient visits a year. Six Nobel laureates have worked there since the school opened in 1943. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein shared the 1985 prize for working out how the body regulates cholesterol, the science behind statins. Johann Deisenhofer won in 1988 for chemistry, Alfred Gilman in 1994 for discovering how cells receive signals, Bruce Beutler in 2011 for innate immunity, and Thomas Südhof in 2013 for how brain cells communicate. That research culture is why UT Southwestern hosts an unusual number of investigator led and early phase studies for a city its size.
Around it sit the systems that give Dallas its scale. Baylor University Medical Center and the Baylor Scott and White network run large hospital based studies. Texas Oncology, one of the biggest community oncology practices in the country, opens cancer trials at clinics across the metro area, so the same study often runs downtown and in the suburbs. Children's Medical Center Dallas, one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the US, anchors children's research. Parkland, the county hospital, runs studies designed for the city's underserved communities, and Fort Worth adds UNT Health Science Center and Cook Children's on the western side of the metroplex. Dedicated research clinics for common conditions are scattered from Plano to Oak Cliff.
What conditions Dallas studies most
Cancer leads, as in most large cities. UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer center in North Texas and ranks among the top 20 hospitals for cancer care in the country, and Texas Oncology's network adds dozens of sites. But Dallas is less cancer dominated than Houston, and its non cancer research is broad: lung cancer and blood cancers sit alongside obesity and weight loss medicines, inflammatory bowel disease, spinal muscular atrophy, pediatric leukemia, glaucoma, and cardiometabolic disease, a natural fit for the city where the biology behind statins was worked out. Because Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing and most diverse metros in the country, sponsors also choose it when they need studies that reflect the real population.
Clinical trials recruiting in Dallas right now
A Phase 4 study of risdiplam in spinal muscular atrophy is enrolling at UT Southwestern, following people on an approved therapy for a rare inherited disease. A Phase 3 trial of divarasib with pembrolizumab in KRAS G12C mutated lung cancer is recruiting at UT Southwestern, testing a next generation targeted pill as first treatment. A Phase 3 obesity trial of enicepatide, a new weight loss medicine, is also open at UT Southwestern, and an early phase study of pivekimab in acute myeloid leukemia is enrolling at Children's Medical Center Dallas. These and about 1,900 other studies are listed on our Dallas clinical trials page.
Paid clinical trials in Dallas
Dallas has a large number of dedicated research clinics, so studies that compensate participants are common here. The pattern matches every other city: short Phase 1 studies in healthy volunteers, some with overnight stays at a research unit, pay the most; treatment trials for a medical condition usually reimburse travel and mileage, which matters in a metro this spread out, and pay modestly per visit. Compensation is stated during informed consent and is never the reason a study exists. Our article on how much clinical trials pay explains the ranges, and the Dallas location page lets you filter for studies that compensate.
How to find and apply for clinical trials in Dallas
Dallas-Fort Worth covers more than 9,000 square miles, and a study "in Dallas" may be at UT Southwestern in the Medical District, at a Texas Oncology clinic in Plano, or across the metroplex in Fort Worth. Check the site address on every listing, and remember that many sponsors run the same study at several DFW sites, so a closer one may exist. Browse the Dallas clinical trials page, filter by your condition, and click Get started on any study that fits. The application takes about 5 minutes, the research team contacts you if you appear to match, and nothing is decided until you have gone through informed consent. Participation is voluntary at every step, and your own doctors stay involved. Our general guide to finding trials near you covers how to read listings and eligibility.
Common questions
Which Dallas hospitals run clinical trials? UT Southwestern Medical Center, Baylor University Medical Center and Baylor Scott and White, Texas Oncology clinics across the metro, Children's Medical Center Dallas, Parkland, and in Fort Worth, UNT Health Science Center and Cook Children's, plus many private research clinics.
Do I need to be a UT Southwestern patient to join a trial there? No. Trials enroll people who meet the study criteria regardless of where they receive care, and your own doctor stays involved.
Are there clinical trials in Fort Worth, or only Dallas? Both. Many studies run at sites on both sides of the metroplex, and Fort Worth has its own academic and pediatric research programs. Search with a radius rather than a single city name to see everything within reach.
Are there paid clinical trials in Dallas for healthy volunteers? Yes, at dedicated research units in the area, usually short studies of how a medicine behaves in the body. Filter the Dallas location page for healthy volunteer studies and check the site address.
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