Therapeutic Areas

Endocrinology
Immunology
Infections and Infectious Diseases
Pulmonary/Respiratory Diseases

Center Overview

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.

Clinical Research Experience

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:

Facility Description

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

Investigator Experience

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.

Staff Expertise

N.J. Amar, M.D., CPI
Medical Director - Allergy Asthma Research Institute
Board-Certified in Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, and Pediatrics
Over 30 years experience in private practice
14 years experience in research

Meera Amar, M.D., F.A.C.E.
Medical Director – Diabetes and Endocrine Research Center
Board-Certified in Endocrinology
Over 20 years experience in private practice
16 years experience in research

Jerry Gersbach, B.B.A.
Administrator
19 years as Medical Office Manager/Administrator
Vice President/Cashier/Comptroller at Financial Institution

Dana Neilson, LVN, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
20 years Clinical Experience
13 years Research Experience
Texas Asthma Educator
Certified Pollen Counter

Dianna Villarreal, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
11 years Clinical Experience
3 years Research Experience

Daphney Robinson, MA, CCRC
Certified Clinical Research Coordinator
13 years Clinical Experience
9 years Research Experience

Corey Richardson, EMTP
Clinical Research Coordinator
22 Years Clinical Experience
7 years Research Experience

Evelyn Kile, B.S.
Clinical Research Coordinator
6 Years Clinical Experience
8 years Research Experience

Stephanie Jones
Assistant Research Coordinator
8 Years Clinical Experience

April Smith, B.S.
Site Support Specialist
1 year Research Experience

Janice Villa
Administrative Assistant
1 year Research Experience

Patient Demographics

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.

Other Information

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.

Contact Center

If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical trial there, please complete and send the email form below. A representative from the research center will then follow up with you.