About Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is any research study that assigns human participants to ethical health-related experiments to evaluate the effects on health outcomes. Clinical trials are primarily designed to test the effects of a new or existing treatment on an illness or disease.

Clinical trials pave the way for new and improved medications to treat existing diseases, conditions and illnesses! Existing medications can also be used to find new indications to treat other diseases, conditions and symptoms. Clinical trials also measure, evaluate and examine outcomes from the patient’s behaviors and safety related study procedures. Research studies help find new alternatives for medical care and can provide more options for patients in the future.

Every clinical study is led by a principal investigator who is also a medical doctor. The principal investigator at RCBM are Joel Young, MD. Dr. Young has been a principal investigator on over 50 Adult and Child ADHD studies, and 25 Adult and Child Depression studies. Dr. Young has also been involved with numerous other clinical trials such as, eating disorders, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder and genomic. He has been involved in clinical research studies for over 30 years. Dr. Young’s expertise in research allows for a more personalized experience with our research patients.

Under the expertise of the principal investigators, are the sub-investigators which make up the research team/clinical staff. The clinical staff includes other medical doctors, PhD, masters’ level raters, clinical coordinators who are well seasoned and professionally trained.

Participants in clinical trials and clinical research are everyday people with normal lives who may or may not even know they qualify for a research study. Depending on the studies RCBM is conducting, a large majority of people can qualify for a research study. These are just some of the questions that we ask to see if you could qualify for a study. Are you 6-65? Are you a relatively healthy individual? Do you have reliable transportation to and from Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine? If so, then you could be part of a Clinical Research Trial at RCBM!

If you participate in a Clinical Trial at RCBM, you are eligible for stipends for your time and travel with NO cost to you! Depending on the trial, the compensation varies. Even if you do not have insurance, you are able to participate! Clinical Trials are not billed through insurance. If eligible for the Clinical Trial, you may receive the newest treatment options available in junction with helping others and moving science forward. During the Clinical Trial, you might end up finding relief, feel better overall and achieve personal goals that were once thought unattainable.

Dr. Young founded the Clinical Trials Group in 2000, and since that time has served as its Chief Medical Officer and a primary investigator for over 85 clinical trials and a Sub-Investigator on 9. Dr. Young is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added qualifications in geriatric, forensic and adolescent psychiatry. He has authored over 100 articles as well as the following books:

• Understanding and Treating Chronic Fatigue: A Practical Guide for Patients, Families, and Practitioners, (Available July 31, 2020) 
• When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart
• ADHD Grown Up: A Guide to Adolescent and Adult ADHD, and Contemporary Guide to Adult ADHD. 

Dr. Young serves as a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, overseeing WSU's family medicine residents’ completion of psychiatric rotations.

Dr. Powell serves as the Clinical Research Director of the Clinical Trials Group. Dr. Powell has developed numerous research designs for studies ranging from qualitative to quantitative investigations, clinical trials to survey design, and has guided multiple studies through successful institutional review board application processes. His research has been accepted at national and local conferences as well as in a peer reviewed journal, and he has provided service as a peer reviewer for the journal, Counselling and Psychotherapy Research.  Dr. Powell oversees the process of concept and protocol development for investigator-initiated studies at the Clinical Trials Group. His personal research interests include psychiatric treatment outcomes and adult learning through cognitive development interventions. 

Sarah Hutton, MD is the Associate Medical Director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Hutton attended the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. She graduated with honors and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. While at Michigan State University, she conducted extensive neuroscience research. Dr. Hutton graduated from St. Matthews University School of Medicine with honors in 2012. She completed her four years of residency training in psychiatry at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. In her final year, Dr. Hutton had the distinct honor of serving as chief resident. As chief resident, she established an ongoing Morbidity and Mortality Conference for the Department of Psychiatry to ensure the highest quality of care.

Dr. Hutton looks forward to caring for all behavioral conditions including mood and anxiety Disorders and attention deficit disorders. She has a particular interest in all-female behavioral conditions including premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum depression, menopausal depression, and eating disorders. Furthermore, Dr. Hutton has experience in psycho-oncology and depression of the cancer patient and their family.

Ashley Koelb, BS, ACSM-CEP, CN is the lead Clinical Research Coordinator at the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Health Science with a concentration in Exercise Physiology from Oakland University. From there Ashley went on to complete Beaumont Hospital’s graduate level Clinical Internship Program in Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation, thereupon earning her Clinical Exercise Physiologist Certification from the American College of Sports Medicine in 2015.

Ashley has been dedicated to working in the field of clinical research for nearly six years. Prior to joining the RCBM team she was involved in several different clinical trials for type 1 diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. Ashley decided to pursue a career in clinical research because not only does she get to work directly with people, she also loves that she is able to play some small role in the advancement of healthcare and medicine. Her professional as well as personal goal is to make a positive impact in the lives of every person she has the opportunity to work with.

Ashley’s future interest is to pursue a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health and Counseling, as one of her biggest passions aside from sports medicine is the study of behavioral and cognitive psychology. In her free time, she enjoys listing to audiobooks, binge watching murder mystery documentaries and on a good day, hopefully, working out.

Current patients can reach Ashley at akoelb@rcbm.net