Shift Work Disorder Clinical Trials in Miami, FL
PharmaDev Clinical Research Institute is enrolling adults with shift work disorder — excessive sleepiness or trouble sleeping caused by working nights or rotating shifts — in clinical research at our Miami office. Miami runs on shift work, and the sleepiness that comes with it is often treated as something to put up with rather than something that can be assessed and studied.
Every study is reviewed by an Institutional Review Board and conducted under the direct supervision of Edward Mezerhane, MD, triple board certified in internal medicine, sleep medicine and obesity medicine. Study-related care is provided at no cost and taking part is voluntary at every stage.
Studies open now · 1 study
Each study below is running at our Miami office. Open one to see what taking part involves, who may be able to join, and to apply.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Lying awake when you finally get to bed after a night shift
- Fighting to stay alert through the last hours of a shift
- Struggling to stay awake on the drive home
- Sleeping only a few hours during the day before waking for good
- Feeling permanently jet-lagged, even on days off
- Sleepiness and irritability that do not lift on rest days
These are things people with this condition often describe — they are not a diagnosis. Whether a study is a fit is confirmed at a screening visit with our physician, provided at no cost to you.
About this condition
Shift Work Disorder
Shift work disorder affects people whose schedule requires them to be awake when their internal body clock is signaling sleep, and to sleep when it is signaling wakefulness. It is common among those working nights, early mornings or rotating shifts.
The result is trouble sleeping during scheduled sleep time, excessive sleepiness during working hours, or both — beyond the ordinary tiredness most people feel after a night shift. Because the body clock is set largely by light exposure, the misalignment lasts as long as the schedule does. It is associated with reduced alertness and safety at work, and with longer-term effects on heart and metabolic health.
Common questions
Do I need a formal diagnosis of shift work disorder?
Not before you contact us. Shift work disorder is diagnosed clinically, from your schedule, your sleep pattern and how sleepiness affects you, and that assessment can be part of the screening visit. What you do need is a genuine night or rotating schedule that includes overnight work.
What counts as shift work for a study?
Protocols generally look for regular overnight or rotating shifts rather than the occasional late night — nursing, security, logistics, hospitality, emergency services or airport work, for example. The specific requirement, such as a minimum number of night shifts per month, is set by each protocol and checked at pre-screening.
Will taking part interfere with my work schedule?
Studies in this area are built around people who work nights, and visits are scheduled with that in mind. Some assessments have to happen at particular times relative to your shift, which is explained in full before you consent so you can judge whether it fits your life.
Can I take part if I also have sleep apnea or another sleep disorder?
It depends on the protocol. Another untreated sleep disorder can be an exclusion, because it makes the cause of sleepiness hard to attribute. It can also mean a different study here is a better fit — we run several in obstructive sleep apnea and in the central disorders of hypersomnolence.
What happens at the screening visit?
It takes place at our Miami office at no cost. We review your schedule, sleep history and medications, perform a physical examination and any tests the protocol requires, and go through the consent document in full, in English or Spanish. You are under no obligation to continue.
Further reading
Most people who work nights adapt badly. A smaller group does not adapt at all, and that difference has a name.
Clinical trials are more structured and more supervised than most people expect. Here is the whole sequence.
The placebo question is the one most people ask first. The honest answer is that it depends on the study — and you will be told before you decide.
Other conditions we study
See if you may be able to take part
Complete the form and a research coordinator will contact you within 24 hours. Se habla español.
Study visits take place at our office in the Kendall area of Miami, with parking on site.
Participants may be compensated for their time and travel. Compensation varies by study and is explained in full before you decide to take part.
Prefer to talk? Call (305) 420-5636 — Se habla español.