If you live anywhere in southeast Texas, you are closer to more medical research than almost anyone else in America. On ClinicalTrials.gov, Houston lists about 2,900 studies actively recruiting, more than Boston, more than Chicago, more than any other city in the country. More than half of them are cancer studies. This is not an accident of size. It comes down to one neighborhood, and understanding it helps you find the right study faster.
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The neighborhood that explains the number
The Texas Medical Center sits just south of downtown Houston, and it is the largest medical complex in the world: more than 50 institutions on about 1,345 acres, over 100,000 employees, and roughly 10 million patient encounters a year. It is where the first long term successful heart transplant in an adult in the United States was performed, in 1968, and where the first coronary bypass surgery happened in 1964. Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, Houston Methodist, Memorial Hermann, and Texas Children's Hospital, the largest children's hospital in the country, all sit within walking distance of each other, connected by miles of tunnels and skywalks.
For a patient, that density has a practical meaning. Almost every major sponsor that runs a large trial in the US puts a site in the Texas Medical Center, because the patient volume and the specialists are already there. So when a new medicine enters Phase 3 anywhere in the country, there is a good chance a Houston site is enrolling.
Cancer clinical trials in Houston: the MD Anderson effect
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was founded in 1941 as one of the founding institutions of the Texas Medical Center. It is the largest cancer center in the world, one of the original three National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer centers, and it has been ranked the number one hospital for cancer care in the country by U.S. News for 12 consecutive years, most recently in the 2026 to 2027 rankings. It is also home to more cancer clinical trials than any other institution in the world.
That single institution is why 52 percent of Houston's recruiting studies are cancer trials, the highest share of any large US city. It shapes what kinds of studies you will find: many early phase trials of brand new drugs, which usually open at only a handful of centers; trials for rare cancers that a community hospital would never see enough patients to run; and long term studies of survivorship. It also means people travel to Houston for cancer research from across the South and from other countries, so the competition for spots in the most sought after studies can be real. Applying early and to more than one study matters here more than in most cities. Our guides to lung cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer treatment explain what the current trials are testing.
What else Houston studies
Cancer is half the picture, and the other half is broad. Houston Methodist and Baylor run large programs in heart disease, the legacy of the city's surgical pioneers, and in neurology. The Texas Medical Center hosts one of the country's biggest clusters of Alzheimer's research, and several inflammatory bowel disease studies, including trials of the new TL1A drug class for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, enroll here. Because Houston is one of the most diverse large cities in America, sponsors also choose it when they need studies that reflect the real population, which has made it a hub for diabetes, fatty liver disease, and obesity research. If your condition is common, there is very likely a Houston study for it.
Studies recruiting in Houston right now
A study of divarasib, a next generation KRAS G12C drug, in non small cell lung cancer is enrolling at MD Anderson, one of the trials testing whether a newer targeted pill can outlast the first ones approved for this mutation. The SYNERGY-Outcomes study of tirzepatide and retatrutide in fatty liver disease with scarring, one of the largest liver trials ever run, has five Houston area sites. And a Phase 3 trial of trontinemab in early Alzheimer's disease is recruiting in the city. All three, along with about 3,000 other studies, are listed on our Houston clinical trials page, where you can filter by condition, phase, and distance.
Paid clinical trials in Houston
Houston has one of the largest concentrations of dedicated research units in the country, so studies that compensate participants are common here. The pattern is the same as everywhere: long term treatment trials for a medical condition usually reimburse travel and pay modestly per visit, while short Phase 1 studies in healthy volunteers, which can involve staying at a research unit for several days, pay the most. Compensation is stated during informed consent and is never the reason a study exists. Our article on how much clinical trials pay gives the ranges, and the Houston location page lets you filter for studies that offer compensation.
How to apply for clinical trials in Houston
Browse the Houston 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.
Common questions
Which Houston hospitals run clinical trials? MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, Baylor College of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals, UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann, Texas Children's Hospital, and dozens of private research clinics across the metro area. Most large studies list several of them.
Do I need to be an MD Anderson patient to join a trial there? No. Trials enroll people who meet the study criteria regardless of where they receive care, though joining usually means the study team at that center becomes part of your care for the duration. Your own oncologist stays involved.
Are there clinical trials in Houston for conditions other than cancer? Yes, nearly half of recruiting studies are not cancer trials, covering heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and many others.
How far do people travel for Houston trials? For common conditions, most participants live in the metro area. For rare cancers and early phase studies at MD Anderson, people come from across Texas and beyond, and some sponsors cover travel and lodging.
See clinical trials in Houston recruiting now
Browse open studies, filter by location, and apply in about 5 minutes: Houston Clinical Trials