Clinical trials near you

Clinical trials in the San Diego area

1,212 studies are recruiting volunteers at 645 research sites in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA area.

Sites in San Diego, La Jolla, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Escondido, Encinitas and 16 more towns.

#19 in the US for recruiting studies#2 in California#37 in the US per resident

Studies recruiting
1,212
Research sites
645
Conditions studied
188
Studies per 100,000 residents
36.7

Conditions being studied

The conditions with the most studies recruiting in the area. A study can be for more than one condition.

  • Lung cancer62 studies
  • Breast cancer56 studies
  • Overweight and obesity44 studies
  • Prostate cancer39 studies
  • Type 2 diabetes34 studies
  • Depressive disorder32 studies
  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)32 studies
  • Liver disease32 studies
  • Colorectal cancer (bowel cancer)31 studies
  • Leukemia31 studies
  • Heart failure28 studies
  • Ovarian cancer28 studies
  • Head and neck cancer26 studies
  • Pancreatic cancer26 studies
  • Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma25 studies
All 188 conditions
  • Lung cancer62
  • Breast cancer56
  • Overweight and obesity44
  • Prostate cancer39
  • Type 2 diabetes34
  • Depressive disorder32
  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)32
  • Liver disease32
  • Colorectal cancer (bowel cancer)31
  • Leukemia31
  • Heart failure28
  • Ovarian cancer28
  • Head and neck cancer26
  • Pancreatic cancer26
  • Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma25
  • Uterine cancer22
  • Kidney cancer20
  • Neuroendocrine tumor20
  • Skin cancer20
  • Crohn's disease19
  • Peripheral nerve disease19
  • Schizophrenia19
  • Melanoma18
  • Cardiomyopathy16
  • Ulcerative colitis (UC)16
  • Cardiovascular disease15
  • Endometrial cancer15
  • Fatty liver disease (MASH/NASH)15
  • Anxiety disorder14
  • Brain cancer14
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)14
  • Stroke14
  • Bladder cancer13
  • Cervical cancer13
  • Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV)13
  • Type 1 diabetes13
  • Alzheimer's disease12
  • Intellectual disability12
  • Osteoarthritis (OA)12
  • Retinal degeneration12
  • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)11
  • Eczema (atopic dermatitis)11
  • Esophageal cancer11
  • Psychotic disorder11
  • Gastric cancer (stomach cancer)10
  • Motor neuron disease (MND)10
  • Psoriasis10
  • Rheumatoid arthritis10
  • Sarcoma of soft tissue10
  • Traumatic brain injury10
  • Atrial fibrillation (AF)9
  • Chronic skin ulcer9
  • Congenital heart disease9
  • Liver cancer9
  • Low back pain9
  • Parkinson's disease (PD)9
  • Sleep apnea9
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)9
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)8
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD)8
  • Epilepsy8
  • Fallopian tube cancer8
  • High blood pressure (hypertension)8
  • Ischemic heart disease (IHD)8
  • Migraine8
  • Bipolar disorder7
  • COVID-197
  • Scoliosis7
  • Amyloidosis6
  • Eating disorder6
  • Influenza (flu)6
  • Multiple myeloma (MM)6
  • Thrombocytopenia6
  • Alopecia5
  • Anemia5
  • Asthma5
  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)5
  • Biliary tract cancer5
  • Cystic fibrosis5
  • Gastrointestinal stromal tumor5
  • Interstitial lung disease5
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS)5
  • Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)5
  • Neuroblastoma5
  • Neuropathic pain5
  • Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)5
  • Schizoaffective disorder5
  • Systemic sclerosis5
  • Thrombotic microangiopathy5
  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm4
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)4
  • Down syndrome4
  • Dry eye syndrome4
  • Graft-versus-host disease4
  • Opioid use disorder4
  • Pericarditis4
  • Alcohol dependence3
  • Alopecia areata3
  • Cannabis use disorder3
  • Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)3
  • Esophagitis3
  • Gout3
  • Hearing loss3
  • Hemophilia A3
  • Hemophilia B3
  • Hereditary angioedema3
  • Hodgkin's lymphoma3
  • Huntington's disease (HD)3
  • Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy3
  • Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)3
  • Macular edema3
  • Myelofibrosis3
  • Peripheral vascular disease3
  • Rett's disorder3
  • Sjogren's syndrome3
  • Smoking dependence3
  • Abdominal cancer2
  • Acne2
  • Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD)2
  • Anal cancer2
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)2
  • Birth control (contraception)2
  • Bone cancer2
  • Celiac disease2
  • Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma2
  • Diabetic eye disease2
  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)2
  • Endometriosis2
  • Gallbladder cancer2
  • Graves' disease2
  • Growth hormone deficiency2
  • Insomnia2
  • Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)2
  • Peritoneal cancer2
  • Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)2
  • Recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI)2
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma2
  • Short-sightedness (myopia)2
  • Sickle cell disease2
  • Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)2
  • Testicular cancer2
  • Ureteral cancer2
  • Urinary incontinence2
  • Vascular dementia2
  • Actinic keratosis1
  • Acute coronary syndrome1
  • Bile duct cancer1
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome1
  • Essential thrombocythemia (ET)1
  • Fibromyalgia1
  • Frown lines (glabellar lines)1
  • Friedreich ataxia1
  • Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)1
  • Functional dyspepsia1
  • Germ cell tumor1
  • Gestational diabetes1
  • Glaucoma1
  • Hemolytic uremic syndrome1
  • Hepatitis D1
  • Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)1
  • Hypercholesterolemia1
  • Hypertriglyceridemia1
  • Hypothyroidism1
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)1
  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)1
  • Menopause symptoms1
  • Narcolepsy1
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)1
  • Ocular hypertension1
  • Osteoporosis1
  • Overactive bladder (OAB)1
  • Pelvic tumor1
  • Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder1
  • Prader-Willi syndrome1
  • Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC)1
  • Primary sclerosing cholangitis1
  • Pulmonary hypertension1
  • Radiculopathy1
  • RSV infection1
  • Stargardt's disease1
  • Thyroid cancer1
  • Tourette's syndrome1
  • Tricuspid valve regurgitation1
  • Urethral cancer1
  • Vaginal cancer1
  • Vasculitis1
  • Vitiligo1
  • Vulvar cancer1

295 more studies are for conditions not yet in our catalog.

Whom the studies accept

The share of the area's studies open to each group. A study can accept several.

  • Adults 18 to 6493%
  • Adults 65 and over84%
  • Children and teens (under 18)21%
  • Healthy volunteers11%
  • Open to all sexes90%
  • Women only6%
  • Men only4%

67 studies are for children only.

Study phases

Earlier phases test safety in fewer people; later phases compare a treatment with the usual care in many.

  • Early phase 10%
  • Phase 17%
  • Phase 1/26%
  • Phase 219%
  • Phase 2/33%
  • Phase 328%
  • Phase 43%
  • No phase (device, behavioral and other studies)20%
  • Not stated14%

Most active research sites

The sites recruiting for the most studies in the area.

  1. University of California San DiegoLa Jolla137 studies
  2. University of California - San DiegoLa Jolla104 studies
  3. Rady Children's Hospital - San DiegoSan Diego99 studies
  4. UC San Diego Moores Cancer CenterLa Jolla88 studies
  5. UC San Diego Moores Cancer CenterLa Jolla53 studies
  6. UCSD Moores Cancer CenterLa Jolla28 studies
  7. VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CASan Diego28 studies
  8. UC San Diego Medical Center - HillcrestSan Diego24 studies
  9. Kaiser Permanente-San Diego ZionSan Diego22 studies
  10. Kaiser Permanente-San MarcosSan Marcos22 studies
  11. Scripps HealthLa Jolla21 studies
  12. UCSD Medical CenterLa Jolla20 studies
  13. University of California San DiegoSan Diego20 studies
  14. University of California San DiegoSan Diego16 studies
  15. Naval Medical Center -San DiegoSan Diego15 studies

Cite these figures

Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Please credit LocalTrial with a link to this page.

As text

Source: LocalTrial, Clinical trials in the San Diego area, https://www.localtrial.com/clinical-trials/california/san-diego, updated November 12, 2026.

With the link, for a web page

Source: <a href="https://www.localtrial.com/clinical-trials/california/san-diego">LocalTrial, Clinical trials in the San Diego area</a>, updated November 12, 2026.

About these figures

Counted from ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. registry of clinical studies, for studies recruiting in the United States. A study is counted once however many sites it has in the area.

The area is the U.S. Census Bureau's San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area. Residents: 3,298,799, the Census Bureau's latest estimate. Updated November 12, 2026.

These figures describe studies, not advice. Talk to your doctor before joining one.

Tell us a little about yourself and we'll suggest the studies near you that may fit. Free and private.

Ready to see what's near you?

Get matched
Get matched