Medical research is often focused on the future, but for many patients, it can make a life-changing difference today.
At Intermountain Health, more than 600 patients participated in medical research studies last year across 260 active projects. Researchers launched 131 new clinical trials in 2025 alone, while Intermountain physicians and scientists published 440 studies in leading medical journals.
For Dr. Samuel Brown, chief of research at Intermountain Health, the numbers represent something much more personal.
Despite his leadership role, Brown still sees patients and says that connection remains at the heart of his work.
"I feel like that's the fundamental," Brown said. "Like you wake up each day and you've got this really busy job and you're tired and you got to introspect. Am I doing something that matters? The reality is there's an immediacy when you take care of a patient and their family that you don't have to spend a lot of time wondering whether you're doing something that matters."
Brown also knows firsthand how medical research can change lives.
"My late wife got probably an extra 3 years of life, which we are ever grateful for because of immunotherapy."
He points to advances in cell-based therapies as one example of how clinical trials are transforming treatment. While these therapies have already shown promise against certain cancers, researchers are also studying their potential to treat autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
"These autoimmune cells are basically traitors, right? They're supposed to protect you and instead they're attacking you," Brown said. "You can get these new cells orchestrated to take out the cells that have turned against you."
Clinical trials play a critical role in bringing promising treatments to patients while researchers continue building evidence for the future. Brown hopes more Utahns will be able to access those opportunities close to home.
As his wife Kate's illness progressed, the couple spent six months in Houston so she could participate in a clinical trial that wasn't available in Utah. That experience ultimately shaped Brown's career.
"As my late wife was wrapping up, was when they asked me to take on an administrative role, and I talked with her about it a lot, but we realized together that of those extra years we got with Kate, we had to spend 6 months of it in Houston because we didn't have the full portfolio of good trials here in Utah that could serve her, so I initially agreed to go into administration to honor Kate's legacy."
Today, Brown says expanding access to clinical trials in Utah is one way to ensure more patients can receive promising treatments without leaving home, allowing families to spend more of their precious time together.
