Jones says it's non-existent because the contracts stipulate that the McGill researcher may publish the study results regardless of the study's conclusions. We're an independent contractor. We have no interest in the results. Research subjects like Gord Bingham, however, are not the least bit indifferent to the results. Bingham, senior technician at the Institute of Parasitology at Macdonald Campus, has been very pleased by the decrease in his blood cholesterol levels since he began participating in cholesterol-related research trials three years ago.
Subjects also get thorough medical attention.
Depending on the nature of the study, they may only eat at Mary Emily or take pre-packaged meals from the facility to eat lunch at work or supper at home, or they may stay overnight. The top floor is equipped to receive 12 and the unit can accomodate subjects for 24 hours or up to eight months. Musing about the history of the facility, the unit's co-ordinator, Catherine Vanstone, says it's ironic how things have turned out. Residents in the 1990s, on the other hand, come downstairs to be fed, to take exercise in an impressively equipped gym room or to relax with a video or a book on the veranda. And, depending on the study, they get paid, to boot.