Search the government registry for studies recruiting in "New York, New York" and you get about 740, a number that would put the largest city in America behind Ann Arbor, Michigan. That is not because New York lacks research. It is because ClinicalTrials.gov files Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island as separate cities, and because the registry's location search is fussy about two word city names. Put "New York" in quotation marks and the same search jumps to more than 4,000. Add it all up and New York has one of the densest concentrations of clinical research on the planet. Here is how to see it.
Looking for Clinical Trials in New York?
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The counting problem, and why it matters to you
Most trial registries treat a city as a single location. New York is five boroughs, each with major hospitals, and the registry lists a study at Montefiore as being in "Bronx," a study at Maimonides as "Brooklyn," and a study at NYU Langone as "New York." If you search only by the city name, you miss a large share of what is open. The practical fix is simple: search by borough, or by ZIP code with a radius, and check the site address on every listing. On AllClinicalTrials.com the New York City page lists about 4,000 studies across the metro area, with the exact site named on each card.
Where the research is, borough by borough
Manhattan. The densest cluster of academic medical centers in the country, most of them along the East Side. Memorial Sloan Kettering, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital, is the oldest and largest private cancer center in the world and one of the leading sites for early phase cancer trials anywhere. NYU Langone and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, Weill Cornell with NewYork-Presbyterian, and Mount Sinai on the Upper East Side each run hundreds of studies, and Mount Sinai's inflammatory bowel disease center is one of the busiest IBD research programs in the world. Columbia University Irving Medical Center anchors Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan.
The Bronx. Montefiore Einstein is one of the largest academic medical centers in the country and runs research that reflects the borough's population, with strong programs in diabetes, HIV, sickle cell disease, and pediatrics. Studies here are often designed to reach people who have historically been left out of research.
Brooklyn. NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, Maimonides, and SUNY Downstate host studies that mirror Manhattan protocols closer to home for 2.6 million residents, and Brooklyn is increasingly where sponsors open sites when Manhattan ones fill.
Queens and Staten Island. Fewer academic sites, but Northwell Health and NYC Health and Hospitals run community based studies across both boroughs, and many private research clinics for common conditions like diabetes, asthma, and fatty liver disease sit in Queens.
What New York specializes in
Cancer makes up about 45 percent of New York's recruiting studies, and Memorial Sloan Kettering's early phase program means that new cancer drugs are often first tested here. Beyond oncology, the city's size and diversity make it a hub for research in inflammatory bowel disease, HIV, fatty liver disease, psychiatry, and rare diseases, and its dozen medical schools mean investigator led studies are common alongside large industry trials. New York also has one of the country's largest concentrations of dedicated research clinics, which is why searches for paid research studies in NYC are so common; more on that below.
Studies recruiting in New York City right now
A Phase 3 trial of afimkibart, a new TL1A drug, in moderately to severely active Crohn's disease is enrolling at Mount Sinai's IBD Clinical Center. A study of multiple therapies in biomarker selected people with early stage lung cancer is open at NYU's Perlmutter Cancer Center, and a Phase 3 trial of prasinezumab in early Parkinson's disease is recruiting at Weill Cornell. These and about 4,000 other studies are on our New York City clinical trials page.
Paid research studies in NYC
New York has an unusually large number of research units that enroll healthy volunteers, at the medical schools and at private research companies, so studies that compensate participants are easy to find here. The pattern is the same as everywhere: short Phase 1 studies in healthy volunteers, which may require staying at a unit for several days, pay the most; treatment trials for medical conditions usually reimburse travel and pay modestly per visit. In New York, "travel reimbursement" typically means OMNY fares or rideshare costs rather than parking. Compensation is always stated during informed consent. Our guide to how much clinical trials pay covers the ranges, and the New York City location page lets you filter for studies that compensate.
Practical notes for New York
Subway access is the real "distance" in New York: a study at Mount Sinai may be 15 minutes from Harlem and an hour from Staten Island. Many study teams schedule around commutes and offer evening or early visits. Because so many trials run at teaching hospitals, expect to meet research fellows and coordinators as well as the lead doctor. And because New York studies fill quickly, especially at Memorial Sloan Kettering, applying to more than one study is normal. The general guide to finding trials near you covers listings, eligibility, and what happens after you apply.
How to apply for clinical trials in NYC
Browse the New York City clinical trials page, filter by condition, and check the site address for the borough. 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 informed consent. Participation is voluntary at every step.
Common questions
Which New York hospitals run clinical trials? Memorial Sloan Kettering, NYU Langone, Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia, Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx, Maimonides and NYU Langone Brooklyn, Northwell Health, and NYC Health and Hospitals, plus many private research clinics. Most large studies list several.
How do I find clinical trials in Brooklyn or the Bronx? Search by borough or ZIP code with a radius, not just "New York," and check the site address on each listing. Many Manhattan studies also run at Brooklyn and Bronx sites.
Do I have to be a Memorial Sloan Kettering patient to join a trial there? No. Trials enroll people who meet the criteria regardless of where they receive care, and your own doctor stays involved.
Are there clinical trials in NYC for healthy volunteers? Yes, many, at medical school research units and private research companies. These are usually short, compensated studies of how a medicine behaves in the body. Filter the New York City page for healthy volunteer studies.
See clinical trials in NYC recruiting now
Browse open studies, filter by location, and apply in about 5 minutes: NYC Clinical Trials