BATON ROUGE - Researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center are looking for participants in an ongoing study about the effects of testosterone on military performance. 

The study is broken into three phases, during which participants must live on site at Pennington for 20 days. In that time, they are subjected to a harsh schedule that consists of four hours of sleep, and 20 hours of exercise. 

“I’ve always been into fitness, always liked doing hard challenges. I ran a marathon two years ago. This just seemed like something fun to do,” said Justin Grier, a participant in the study. 

By being sleep-deprived and overworked, it induces what researchers call "operational stress," a condition that many members of the military struggle with while at war. The goal is to see if the administration of testosterone will aid soldiers' bodies when facing operational stress. 

“Half of our participants are getting testosterone, half are getting a placebo, and we don’t know who gets what. And we’re hoping that by maintaining normal testosterone, we can maintain or improve that performance,” said Dr. Jennifer Rood, associate executive director.

If the volunteers make it through the entire 50-day study, they will be compensated with $7,500. 

Any males between the ages of 18 and 30 and who are active two to three times a week are eligible to sign up here.