June 9, 2025 • 9 mins
Dr. Michael Koren joins Kevin Geddings to discuss the motivations of clinical trial veterans who repeatedly participate in medical research studies. Dr. Koren shares that these participants consistently cite the desire to "Make a Difference" as their primary motivation, pushing science and medicine forward for generations to come.
Be a part of advancing science by participating in clinical research.
Have a question for Dr. Koren? Email him at askDrKoren@MedEvidence.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:00):
Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio
Show hosted by Kevin Geddings ofWSOS St Augustine Radio and
powered by Encore Research Group.
Each Monday morning, Dr MichaelKoren calls in to bring you the
latest medical updates withinsightful discussions.
Medevidence is where we helpyou navigate the real truth
behind medical research, withboth a clinical and research
(00:20):
perspective.
So sit back, relax and getready to learn about the truth
behind the data in medicine andhealthcare.
This is MedEvidence!
Kevin Geddings (00:30):
Dr.
Michael Koren.
Of course we appreciate himgreatly.
He's a big part of our familyhere at WSOS and, of course,
medical doctor, cardiologist,research scientist, as I alluded
to, and also helps run the atENCORE Research Group, and of
course they are engaged inleading-edge medical research.
And you did this interestingprogram at WJCT, the NPR public
(00:51):
radio station in Jacksonville,last week where we highlighted
folks who participate inclinical trials, people, I guess
, that have participated in morethan one, correct?
Dr. Michael Koren (01:01):
Yeah, yeah.
So we did something a little bitdifferent this past Friday at
the WJCT program and we broughtup three clinical trial veterans
we'll call them who have donemultiple clinical trials, just
so that the audience can hearwhat motivated them not only to
get involved in the first place,but to come back over and over
again for different programs.
And I'll tell you, everybody hada little bit of a different
(01:23):
story, but it all came down tothis concept of people wanting
to make a difference, and Ithink that's a fundamental
element of human nature thatsome people truly have a very
strong desire to make adifference, and I actually think
that desire is closely linkedto success in life.
People want to make adifference ultimately are more
successful, in my opinion.
(01:44):
I think eventually we'll findthe genetics of it.
There's probably a gene thattriggers that in human beings,
but all these people told theirstories and they all talked
about how they felt so good,about the fact that they could
make a difference in differentways, and they made a difference
because of legacy anddiscovering things that helped
their family members.
They made a difference becausethey learned and understood new
(02:07):
technologies.
One talked about this Heartfailure app that we worked on
and how fascinating that was andhow he learned much more about
how technology is movinghealthcare forward, and other
people talked about having abackground in teaching and how
he was a better teacher becauseof experience in clinical
(02:27):
research.
But again, the common threadthere was making a difference.
Kevin Geddings (02:32):
That's interesting, right, because
often people may think, orlooking from the outside in that
well, it's a little bit of thestipend that you get for your
time and expense and that sortof thing.
But that's not really it.
It is that notion that you'removing the ball down the field
when it comes to providing usall with better health care,
correct?
Dr. Michael Koren (02:47):
Absolutely.
And there's nothing wrong withthe stipend, there's nothing
wrong with enjoying it.
I told the story actually of mymother-in-law who called me up
every summer preparing for thecold and flu season and said you
know, if I go get a flu shot atPublix, I get a $10 gift card,
(03:09):
but if I get my flu shot withJCCR I get $500.
So I think I'd go with the $500option and this is my
mother-in-law.
So there's nothing wrong withthat and we certainly embrace
that, and actually what we do iswe negotiate those fees for our
patients, so that's somethingwe can bring back to the
communities.
But to your point, I think it'ssomething more than that for
(03:29):
most people.
Kevin Geddings (03:30):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and we have
participated in clinicalresearch with ENCORE Research
Group here.
Both myself and Karen Highlyrecommend the experience.
It's a lot of fun actually, andyou'll also get somebody who
probably cares more about yourhealth status than anybody
you've ever encountered in yourlife, so that's another reason
to do it.
Let's talk about what might besome possibilities, though, for
folks out there driving around.
(03:50):
What are some clinical trialsthey could participate in,
potentially?
Dr. Michael Koren (03:56):
Yes, we're always working on super
interesting things, so I'll justthrow out three things we're
working on as we speak.
I was at an investigatormeeting for a new medication
that's going to help people withcongestive heart failure who
are overweight, and obviouslythere's a lot of buzz about
obesity drugs and for somepeople it's about appearance,
(04:17):
but for many people it'sactually about their health, and
what happens for people withcongestive heart failure is they
get into this bad vicious cyclewhere they get overweight and
that makes it harder on theirheart, but also, by being
overweight, it's harder to beactive and lose weight.
So people in that situationoften need some sort of
medication to help them breakthat cycle.
(04:39):
And we're doing a study as wespeak that involves an injection
that people take monthly thatwill help them break that cycle.
That's one example.
Kevin Geddings (04:46):
That's cool.
Dr. Michael Koren (04:47):
Another example I think I mentioned this
a couple weeks ago is thatwe're working with a small
entrepreneur who's developing anew patch to detect cardiac
arrhythmias.
So if you have atrialfibrillation or palpitations or
other arrhythmias, you can getinformation about your
arrhythmia.
But also help a smallentrepreneur who has a neat
little way of making thistechnology more available to
(05:09):
people.
It's helping to get it throughthe FDA.
So it's another example of"making a difference in helping
a small entrepreneur whilehelping yourself.
And then we also are doing astudy that's looking at this
problem of chronic cough.
So there are plenty of peopleout there who just have a cough
and they're not sure exactly why.
They may have a little bit of asinus issue, they may have
(05:30):
concerns about medications orsomething else, but at the end
of the day they're not 100% sure.
So we're doing a study nowthat's looking at this problem
and actually giving people amonitor to see how often they
cough during the day, and aspart of this program one you get
the information from themonitor, but if the number of
coughs you have during the dayis great enough, then you can be
(05:52):
involved in a randomizedclinical trial.
So again, you learn aboutyourself and also you're part of
this process of learning aboutcollectively this problem of
cough without a good reason.
So those are three good examplesof the stuff that we're doing
as we speak.
Kevin Geddings (06:07):
Wow, well, and to participate, or potentially
participate, in any of those andthere's countless more too, by
the way, you should get in touchwith ENCORE Research Group.
And I would imagine there's justthat initial phone call, right,
Dr.
Koren, and we start the processof assessing what they may be
able to participate in.
Dr. Michael Koren (06:26):
Yeah, absolutely Obviously.
You can look at the thingswe're doing on our website.
Or if you're just interested inresearch in general or one of
the topics that I just mentioned, just give us a call.
We'll ask you a few questionsand then have you come on in and
be evaluated and see ifsomething fits.
Kevin Geddings (06:37):
Yeah, there you go.
Before we let Dr.
Koren go too, we of course wantto put a plug out there for
MedEvidence.
com.
MedEvidence.
com an amazing resource forgetting you know the kind of
health data and information thatyou can trust, as opposed to
just Googling or relying on.
Dr. Michael Koren (06:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm really excited aboutthis.
Again, it's the Truth Behindthe Data and again, the best way
to explain this is that in life, there's things that we know
for sure.
There's things that we reallydon't know.
Sometimes it's hard to admitthat we don't know them, but
there are things we don't knowand then there's a way to figure
out the stuff that you don'tknow and med evidence really
breaks down the role of medicinethat way and people find it
(07:17):
really extremely helpful and agood resource.
So we often don't tell you whatto do exactly, but we give you
information about what is reallyknown for sure and help you
find your journey to learn aboutthings you may not know in your
particular circumstance.
And I'm really super excitedbecause a group out of Chicago
has embraced the MedEvidencemodel and as we speak they're
(07:40):
doing major programs using theMedEvidence model to reach out
to their own community andtalking about research as a care
option and literallyapproaching hundreds of people
in the Chicago area about howyou can learn more about your
health and how you can approachthis concept of figuring out
what you don't know about yourhealth care and then solving
that problem.
Kevin Geddings (08:00):
Well, it's a great resource and, of course,
the information there isavailable on a variety of
different media types, and so weencourage you to check it out
MedEvidencecom, MedEvidencecom.
And again, if you areinterested and would just like
to learn more, there's nohigh-pressure sales or anything
here, just good information.
If you want to learn more abouthow you can participate in some
leading medical research, youcan call this number here
(08:23):
locally in St.
Augustine and St.
Johns County.
Their offices are located nearUF Flagler Hospital,
904-730-0166.
That number again for ENCOREResearch, 904-730-0166.
Dr.
Michael Koren, Any closingthoughts before we let you go on
this Monday morning?
Dr. Michael Koren (08:42):
We're hitting those summer months, so start
to think about how you're goingto prepare yourself for the cold
and flu season.
And remember during the summerin Florida we spend more time
indoors, so there's typicallyspikes in viral activity.
So be careful and have a plan.
Kevin Geddings (08:57):
There you go.
Dr.
Koren, thank you very much, besafe, we'll talk soon.
Dr. Michael Koren (09:02):
Be well, bye-bye.
Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio
Show hosted by Kevin Geddings ofWSOS St Augustine Radio and
powered by Encore Research Group.
Each Monday morning, Dr MichaelKoren calls in to bring you the
latest medical updates withinsightful discussions.
Medevidence is where we helpyou navigate the real truth
behind medical research, withboth a clinical and research
(00:20):
perspective.
So sit back, relax and getready to learn about the truth
behind the data in medicine andhealthcare.
This is MedEvidence!
Kevin Geddings (00:30):
Dr.
Michael Koren.
Of course we appreciate himgreatly.
He's a big part of our familyhere at WSOS and, of course,
medical doctor, cardiologist,research scientist, as I alluded
to, and also helps run the atENCORE Research Group, and of
course they are engaged inleading-edge medical research.
And you did this interestingprogram at WJCT, the NPR public
(00:51):
radio station in Jacksonville,last week where we highlighted
folks who participate inclinical trials, people, I guess
, that have participated in morethan one, correct?
Dr. Michael Koren (01:01):
Yeah, yeah.
So we did something a little bitdifferent this past Friday at
the WJCT program and we broughtup three clinical trial veterans
we'll call them who have donemultiple clinical trials, just
so that the audience can hearwhat motivated them not only to
get involved in the first place,but to come back over and over
again for different programs.
And I'll tell you, everybody hada little bit of a different
(01:23):
story, but it all came down tothis concept of people wanting
to make a difference, and Ithink that's a fundamental
element of human nature thatsome people truly have a very
strong desire to make adifference, and I actually think
that desire is closely linkedto success in life.
People want to make adifference ultimately are more
successful, in my opinion.
(01:44):
I think eventually we'll findthe genetics of it.
There's probably a gene thattriggers that in human beings,
but all these people told theirstories and they all talked
about how they felt so good,about the fact that they could
make a difference in differentways, and they made a difference
because of legacy anddiscovering things that helped
their family members.
They made a difference becausethey learned and understood new
(02:07):
technologies.
One talked about this Heartfailure app that we worked on
and how fascinating that was andhow he learned much more about
how technology is movinghealthcare forward, and other
people talked about having abackground in teaching and how
he was a better teacher becauseof experience in clinical
(02:27):
research.
But again, the common threadthere was making a difference.
Kevin Geddings (02:32):
That's interesting, right, because
often people may think, orlooking from the outside in that
well, it's a little bit of thestipend that you get for your
time and expense and that sortof thing.
But that's not really it.
It is that notion that you'removing the ball down the field
when it comes to providing usall with better health care,
correct?
Dr. Michael Koren (02:47):
Absolutely.
And there's nothing wrong withthe stipend, there's nothing
wrong with enjoying it.
I told the story actually of mymother-in-law who called me up
every summer preparing for thecold and flu season and said you
know, if I go get a flu shot atPublix, I get a $10 gift card,
(03:09):
but if I get my flu shot withJCCR I get $500.
So I think I'd go with the $500option and this is my
mother-in-law.
So there's nothing wrong withthat and we certainly embrace
that, and actually what we do iswe negotiate those fees for our
patients, so that's somethingwe can bring back to the
communities.
But to your point, I think it'ssomething more than that for
(03:29):
most people.
Kevin Geddings (03:30):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and we have
participated in clinicalresearch with ENCORE Research
Group here.
Both myself and Karen Highlyrecommend the experience.
It's a lot of fun actually, andyou'll also get somebody who
probably cares more about yourhealth status than anybody
you've ever encountered in yourlife, so that's another reason
to do it.
Let's talk about what might besome possibilities, though, for
folks out there driving around.
(03:50):
What are some clinical trialsthey could participate in,
potentially?
Dr. Michael Koren (03:56):
Yes, we're always working on super
interesting things, so I'll justthrow out three things we're
working on as we speak.
I was at an investigatormeeting for a new medication
that's going to help people withcongestive heart failure who
are overweight, and obviouslythere's a lot of buzz about
obesity drugs and for somepeople it's about appearance,
(04:17):
but for many people it'sactually about their health, and
what happens for people withcongestive heart failure is they
get into this bad vicious cyclewhere they get overweight and
that makes it harder on theirheart, but also, by being
overweight, it's harder to beactive and lose weight.
So people in that situationoften need some sort of
medication to help them breakthat cycle.
(04:39):
And we're doing a study as wespeak that involves an injection
that people take monthly thatwill help them break that cycle.
That's one example.
Kevin Geddings (04:46):
That's cool.
Dr. Michael Koren (04:47):
Another example I think I mentioned this
a couple weeks ago is thatwe're working with a small
entrepreneur who's developing anew patch to detect cardiac
arrhythmias.
So if you have atrialfibrillation or palpitations or
other arrhythmias, you can getinformation about your
arrhythmia.
But also help a smallentrepreneur who has a neat
little way of making thistechnology more available to
(05:09):
people.
It's helping to get it throughthe FDA.
So it's another example of"making a difference in helping
a small entrepreneur whilehelping yourself.
And then we also are doing astudy that's looking at this
problem of chronic cough.
So there are plenty of peopleout there who just have a cough
and they're not sure exactly why.
They may have a little bit of asinus issue, they may have
(05:30):
concerns about medications orsomething else, but at the end
of the day they're not 100% sure.
So we're doing a study nowthat's looking at this problem
and actually giving people amonitor to see how often they
cough during the day, and aspart of this program one you get
the information from themonitor, but if the number of
coughs you have during the dayis great enough, then you can be
(05:52):
involved in a randomizedclinical trial.
So again, you learn aboutyourself and also you're part of
this process of learning aboutcollectively this problem of
cough without a good reason.
So those are three good examplesof the stuff that we're doing
as we speak.
Kevin Geddings (06:07):
Wow, well, and to participate, or potentially
participate, in any of those andthere's countless more too, by
the way, you should get in touchwith ENCORE Research Group.
And I would imagine there's justthat initial phone call, right,
Dr.
Koren, and we start the processof assessing what they may be
able to participate in.
Dr. Michael Koren (06:26):
Yeah, absolutely Obviously.
You can look at the thingswe're doing on our website.
Or if you're just interested inresearch in general or one of
the topics that I just mentioned, just give us a call.
We'll ask you a few questionsand then have you come on in and
be evaluated and see ifsomething fits.
Kevin Geddings (06:37):
Yeah, there you go.
Before we let Dr.
Koren go too, we of course wantto put a plug out there for
MedEvidence.
com.
MedEvidence.
com an amazing resource forgetting you know the kind of
health data and information thatyou can trust, as opposed to
just Googling or relying on.
Dr. Michael Koren (06:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm really excited aboutthis.
Again, it's the Truth Behindthe Data and again, the best way
to explain this is that in life, there's things that we know
for sure.
There's things that we reallydon't know.
Sometimes it's hard to admitthat we don't know them, but
there are things we don't knowand then there's a way to figure
out the stuff that you don'tknow and med evidence really
breaks down the role of medicinethat way and people find it
(07:17):
really extremely helpful and agood resource.
So we often don't tell you whatto do exactly, but we give you
information about what is reallyknown for sure and help you
find your journey to learn aboutthings you may not know in your
particular circumstance.
And I'm really super excitedbecause a group out of Chicago
has embraced the MedEvidencemodel and as we speak they're
(07:40):
doing major programs using theMedEvidence model to reach out
to their own community andtalking about research as a care
option and literallyapproaching hundreds of people
in the Chicago area about howyou can learn more about your
health and how you can approachthis concept of figuring out
what you don't know about yourhealth care and then solving
that problem.
Kevin Geddings (08:00):
Well, it's a great resource and, of course,
the information there isavailable on a variety of
different media types, and so weencourage you to check it out
MedEvidencecom, MedEvidencecom.
And again, if you areinterested and would just like
to learn more, there's nohigh-pressure sales or anything
here, just good information.
If you want to learn more abouthow you can participate in some
leading medical research, youcan call this number here
(08:23):
locally in St.
Augustine and St.
Johns County.
Their offices are located nearUF Flagler Hospital,
904-730-0166.
That number again for ENCOREResearch, 904-730-0166.
Dr.
Michael Koren, Any closingthoughts before we let you go on
this Monday morning?
Dr. Michael Koren (08:42):
We're hitting those summer months, so start
to think about how you're goingto prepare yourself for the cold
and flu season.
And remember during the summerin Florida we spend more time
indoors, so there's typicallyspikes in viral activity.
So be careful and have a plan.
Kevin Geddings (08:57):
There you go.
Dr.
Koren, thank you very much, besafe, we'll talk soon.
Dr. Michael Koren (09:02):
Be well, bye-bye.
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