Research Center Profile:
Allergy Asthma Research Institute

The Allergy Asthma Research Institute is an experienced, physician-owned, fully-staffed and equipped research center in Central Texas. The research center, established in 1997, is a branch of a large allergy practice. The staff includes 4 full-time coordinators, two of which have CCRC/LVN license and two CRC’s with medical experience, a data manager, a director, an assistant director, and an administrator. The research institute and allergy practice occupy a combined 10,000 sq. ft. of office space. The research institute and the private monitoring areas are equipped with data ports for broadband internet connections, computers and telephones. The entire building is Wi Fi accessible. This sharing of a central location has led to successful patient recruitment, high retention rates of patient participation and a great degree of patient satisfaction.
This area of Texas experiences very intense and long pollen seasons, including very high Mountain Cedar pollen in the winter. The research institute performs daily pollen counts which are submitted to the National Allergy Bureau. Please see our Pollen Graph under Other Information.
Our mission is to conduct clinical trials expeditiously under strict GCP guidelines with data integrity and subject safety as paramount goals. Our skilled coordinators are experienced and motivated with the ability to complete large numbers of allergy and asthma studies simultaneously. Our history includes successfully completing a number of Mountain Cedar studies involving a large number of subjects in a short period of time. In many cases, we either meet or exceed the enrollment goals. Our coordinators are also familiar with electronic records and remote data entry.
The medical director, N.J. Amar M.D. CPI is board-certified in Allergy & Immunology and Pediatrics and has vast experience in medical research.
We seek additional clinical research trials involving all phases of studies in both adult and pediatric fields of allergy, asthma, antibiotics and dermatology.
N.J. Amar, M.D., CPI and staff have extensive experience in
conducting various phases of clinical trials. The institute has
been involved in clinical trials since 1997. Our finished product
is a synergistic result of excellent teamwork. We have exceeded
enrollment goals and are often high enrollers. We have done a
number of Mountain Cedar studies, some of which involved over 200
subjects. We do both adult and pediatric studies. We have a large
practice of over 20,000 patients and also a separate study
database.
We specialize in the following therapeutic
areas:
- Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis
- Perennial Allergic Rhinitis
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- COPD
- Allergic Conjunctivitis
- Urticaria
- Dermatitis (Atopic & Contact)
- Sinus Headaches
- Migraines
- Acute Bronchitis
- Acute Sinusitis
- Cold and Flu
- Other Infectious Diseases
- GERD
Some of the sponsors/CRO that we have worked with
are:
- Allied
- Alcon
- Alpha Betiz
- Amphastar
- AstraZeneca
- Aventis
- Bristol-Meyers Squibb
- Clinical Research Management
- Clinsys
- Cobalis
- Concentric
- Covance
- DEY
- Forest Research, Inc.
- Genetech
- GlaxoSmithKline
- ICON
- Ingenix
|
- ITGI
- MDS
- MEDA
- MedPointe
- Merck
- Omnicare
- Pfizer
- Pharma Atlanta
- Pharma Research Corporation
- PPD
- PRA
- Quintiles
- Sanofi Aventis
- Schering-Plough
- Sepracor
- SkyePharma
- UCB
|

The Allergy Asthma Research Institute is dedicated to the
highest quality of research striving for excellence in all aspects
of trial conduct. Our facility has approximately 10,000 square feet
with a dedicated research area. Our building was designed to house
both a private practice and a research department adjacent to each
other. We offer outpatient clinical trials of all phases. We have
private monitor rooms with data ports, Wi Fi connections and
phones. We have secured lockable cabinets for the study drugs and a
dedicated storage area for the lab supplies. We have a secure room,
in house, for storing of source documents and other study related
materials.
Our facility is equipped with the following:
- Allergy skin test equipment
- KOKO computerized spirometer
- Methacholine Challenge
- Centrifuge
- Microscope
- Rotorod pollen sampler
- EKG
- Holter monitor
- Stadiometer
- Professional refrigeration units
- Dedicated Freezer
- High-Speed Internet (Wi Fi Wireless)
- Dial-up Modem
- Pulse oximetry
We are able to perform the following procedures at our
office:
- Daily pollen counts
- Allergy skin tests
- EKG
- Pulmonary Function Tests
- Methacholine Challenge
- Holter Monitor
- Phlebotomy and lab-handling
- Urine Pregnancy test
- Bone densitometry
- Oximetry
N.J. Amar, M.D., CPI is board-certified in
Allergy, Asthma, Immunology, and Pediatrics. He obtained his
allergy training from Columbia University in New York City. He
started his allergy and asthma practice in Waco in 1982 and has
built a patient population greater than 20,000. He and his wife,
Dr. Meera Amar an endocrinologist, have constructed a two-story
building with approximately 10,000 sq. ft. on each floor. Dr. Amar
has been in medical research for 11 years.
N.J. Amar, M.D., CPI
Medical Director
Board-Certified in Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
Over 30 years experience in private practice
Eleven years experience in research
Nancy L. O'Farrell, PA-C
Assistant Director of Research
14 years clinical experience
Jerry Gersbach, B.B.A.
Administrator
15 years as Medical Office Manager/Administrator
Vice President/Cashier/Comptroller at Financial Institution
Dana Neilson, LVN, CCRC
Manager/Certified Clinical Research
Supervisor - 20 years private practice
12 years in clinical trials
Experience: Asthma, Allergy, Hypertension, Antibiotics, Diabetes,
Anemia Nephropathy
Member of: DIA, ACRP, AAAAI
Texas Asthma Educator
Certified Pollen Counter
Nancy Canada, LVN, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
10 years of Nursing experience.
3 years Research Experience
Dianna Villarreal, CRC
Clinical Research Coordinator
11 Years Clinical experience
Whitney Saulters, CRC
Clinical Research Coordinator
Callie Nowlin B.A.
Administrative Assistant
1 year Research Experience
Ashley Payne
Research Coordinator Assistant
2 years Research Experience
Waco is centrally located in Texas on Interstate 35. It is a
suburb with a county population of over 250,000. Waco is easily
accessible from major Texas cities (2 hrs from Dallas and Fort
Worth, 1½ hrs from Austin. 3 hrs from Houston and San Antonio). The
local airport (Cooper Madison "ACT") is serviced by
American Eagle connecting at DFW and Continental connecting in
Houston. There are 3 colleges in the area (Baylor, McLennan
Community College and Texas State Technical College) that provide a
healthy pool of subjects.
Our facility uses a central IRB and our laboratory is CLIA
certified. Our facility is privately-owned and not affiliated with
a hospital resulting in quick response time.
Waco has a year-round allergy season. For the past 18 years, we
have had daily pollen counts collected and counted in our office.
Our office is one of the official pollen counting stations in the
area for the National Allergy Bureau of the American Academy of
Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) that maintains the national
allergy data base.

Dana Neilson, LVN, CCRC
Allergy Asthma Research Institute
333 Londonderry Drive, Suite 110
Waco, TX 76712
USA
Phone: 254-751-1144 ext. 11
Fax: 254-751-9922
EMail: dneilson@aactx.com
Web Site: http://www.aactx.com
The following trial(s) are actively recruiting patients:
If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical
trial there, please complete and send the E-mail form below. A representative from
the research center will then follow up with you.