Address, directions, reminders and protocols for your study visit

Thank you for volunteering to contribute to this groundbreaking research!

Your contribution means a lot to us and the patient community - we couldn’t do this without you.

  • MIT Center for Clinical and Translational Research

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    45 Carleton Street

    Building E25-201

    Cambridge, MA 02139

  • Upon arrival to MIT please go to Hayward Street Parking LOT at 33 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02142 and park in the open parking lot.

    DO NOT Park in the underground garage, drive past the garage and park in the outdoor MIT Medical Lot next to the garage. Once parked take your ticket with you, as it will need to be validated by CCTR staff.

    Please note: The side of the building closest to the MIT Medical parking lot is marked with a large blue "POLICE" sign, which is confusing. Rest assured that you will not be walking through a police station to get to us. The police station is located on the ground floor of our building with a separate entry.

  • MBTA Red Line: The nearest subway stop to MIT is "Kendall/MIT" on the MBTA Red Line, which is right next to E25 (the building where CCTR is located).

    MBTA Bus: The #1 bus, Harvard/Dudley, stops at (Mass Ave @Albany Street, 77 or 84 Mass Ave). The CT2 bus stops at Vassar Street @Mass Ave. The #64 bus stops at Broadway @Galileo Way

  •  When you walk into the building, take the elevator or stairs to the 2nd floor. Take a left and walk to the door that says: "HealthLab: MIT Center for Clinical and Translational Research." This door is unlocked. Please come inside.

    Immediately to your right, there is another door that leads directly to our clinic (Room #E25-201). Please ring the black doorbell and we will let you in.

Day Of In Person Visit Reminders For Participants

  • Bring any corrective glasses to the visit. If you normally wear corrective glasses or lenses to do computer work, we DO recommend bringing them to your visit.

  • Wear comfortable shoes. While you will be seated for a lot of the visit, there are some tests that will require you to stand and walk to different rooms. We want to be sure you are comfortable and safe.

  • Masks. The CCTR is a high ventilation space and all research staff can wear masks upon request. However, please note that you will be asked to remove the mask for certain things like providing a saliva sample or getting your temperature taken.

  • Stay hydrated. Your blood draw will be done at the tail end of your visit. Please drink plenty of water prior to and during your visit.

  • If you've had any issues getting your blood drawn in the past (e.g. hard stick, get dizzy), please make sure you have let our team know.

  • Wear a t-shirt or tank top underneath your clothing. Mostly for your comfort, but we will be taking your blood pressure and drawing blood from your arm. If you are wearing something bulky like a sweatshirt we may ask you to remove it so we can access your arm.

  • Earrings and Hair: Please note that for the WAVi test, we will need you to remove any earrings in the ear lobes. So, we recommend not wearing any valuable jewelry. Additionally, some hairstyles and very thick hair can interfere with the proper fit of the WAVi headset and our ability to pick up the electrical signals. We will try our best to get the data but our priority is your comfort.

What to expect upon arriving to the CCTR

A member of our clinical research team will greet you at the door of E25-201 and guide you to the suite you’ll be starting your visit in.

Generally, visits will be conducted in the following order - but often adjustments are made to prioritize participant safety and comfort, as well as maintaining privacy should you bring a guest to participate with you that day.

The visit will begin with a member of the team fitting you with the STAT earpiece for continuous measurement of cochlear artery blood flow as a proxy for cerebral blood flow. You will wear this earpiece for the duration of the visit.

You will then be guided to a room for RightEye testing, where an eye tracking device will be used to conduct a series of tests using visual cues.

From there, you will be fitted for WAVi EEG testing, where a lightweight helmet will be placed on your head to measure brainwave activity for a series of auditory and visual exercises.

A member of our clinical team will then collect oral saliva samples, and if you consented to the throat swab, the clinical study nurse will collect this at this time.

The visit will then proceed with self-sample collection, and you will be instructed on how to collect the urine sample. This is done on your own in the privacy of the clinic bathroom - if you consented to the collection of vaginal and rectal samples, this is when you would collect these as well. Clinical staff will provide detailed guidance on self-collection procedures to prioritize your comfort.

Following the collection of these samples, the clinical study nurse and clinical staff will conduct the nursing assessment - consisting of questions, questionnaires and activities to evaluate neuro-cognitive function, hyper-mobility, and skin barrier integrity using the non-invasive Nevisense device.

If you consented to sweat collection, the Macroduct device will be used to stimulate your sweat glands, and the device will collect the sweat produced.

The visit will continue with the NASA lean teat to evaluate orthostatic intolerance - this is conducted under the close supervision of the clinical team, and your safety and comfort are the top priority at all times.

The visit will conclude with blood collection via phlebotomy - if you have any prior history of issues with getting blood drawn (experienced dizziness, are a “hard stick”) please let our team know.

We have snacks and water available throughout the duration of your visit, and breaks can be offered as needed. We estimate the total length of the study visit will be around 4 hours.

Approximately one week after your visit, the clinical study nurse will follow up with you to share some of the test results, administer a follow up neuro-cognitive assessment and check in on how you are doing post visit. Our team is available to you to answer any questions you may have at any time.