For Participants

Want to be part of the NUgene Project? You can with these easy steps:

• Complete a pre-screening form
• Sign an online consent form
• Fill out a brief online health history questionnaire
• Receive a pre-paid saliva kit by mail
• Mail the saliva kit back to our lab

How to Participate

You can enroll in the NUgene Project by watching the short video below and completing a pre-screening form. If you are eligible to participate, you will receive a RedCap link to sign the online consent form and questionnaire.

Complete Pre-Screening Form

If you have any questions about the NUgene Project or the consent form, or if you would like to enroll with the help of a research coordinator, please contact the NUgene Research Office: 312-503-6200 or nugene@northwestern.edu.

Eligibility

The NUgene Project hopes to create a biobank of great diversity. Healthy individuals as well as those with any medical condition are encouraged to participate. We also hope to enroll people of every race and ethnicity. In order to be eligible, an individual must be at least 18 years of age and be a patient at Northwestern Medicine.

Why Others Have Participated

"I believe that research using DNA and other materials provided by human volunteers will enable less expensive, more effective drugs to be placed on the market sooner resulting in more saved and enhanced lives." — Michael

"For several years now, much of what I have been reading about health and medicine has suggested that there are links between our genes and the health conditions and disease we suffer. I know that the heart condition that I have often runs in families. My reading and my own experiences tell me that medical progress grows from advances in medical research. So when my doctor at Northwestern told me about the NUgene Project, I was very willing and happy to sign on." — Gretchen

"I have had insulin dependent diabetes since I was 5 years old-for 38 years. I have been relatively lucky over the years with limited complications and restrictions on my life... If I can help other people with this illness, I would be happy to. If there is a way to determine why some diabetics have few complications and others have many-despite good control, I would like to help make that happen. It is my hope that in the future, diabetes will not be such an all consuming part of a person's life." — Jennifer

Privacy

The genetic and medical information collected through the NUgene Project is kept strictly confidential to safeguard your privacy. The NUgene Project specifically protects your privacy by:

• Removing your name and identifying information from your DNA sample and associated health information
• Restricting access to NUgene information to only authorized personnel
• Employing state-of-the-art security measures
• Following federal and state laws regarding the use of patient electronic medical records
• Obtaining a Certificate of Confidentiality to protect research participants' study records

If you have questions or want to speak with someone about NUgene, please contact us at 312-503-6200 or complete this form.

Funding

The NUgene Project is a nonprofit activity of the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University. It is funded by Northwestern Medicine. 

Investigator: Rex L. Chisholm, PhD

IRB Study Number: STU00010003