International Clinical Trials Day: University of Sheffield welcomes public participation

Leading researchers from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the University of Sheffield will be providing an insight into some of their work as part of International Clinical Trials Day.

The event on Friday May 20^th will explore some of the advances that have been made in research and the important role that clinical trials have played.

This year there will be a focus on the role of the lay advisory panels that help to shape research, with a Sheffield Consumers in Research Event being held at The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield, S1 4FW from 12noon to 3pm. Members of the public are welcome to call in at any time.

There will be presentations from Simon Bell, Neurology Registrar, and Carol Keen, Lead Therapist in Specialised Medicine, where they will explain how the lay panels aid their research work. Simon’s talk will be at 1pm and Carol’s at 1.30pm.

There will also be several posters on display with information about a range of research facilities and services, including the Clinical Research Facility (CRF) and Clinical Research Network (CRN).

Tours of the CRF facility on O floor at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital will take place from 4 - 5pm, where members of the public will be able to see the state of the art facilities which offer patients a dedicated space to take part in clinical research. There is no need to book.

At 6pm there is an Is it All in the Mind? event at The Circle, sponsored by the University of Sheffield’s arts and humanities faculty. It will feature interactive talks and an art exhibition exploring the links between the arts and medical research in neurological conditions. Visit http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/publicengagement/ictd for more details and to book a free place.

International Clinical Trials Day commemorates the day that James Lind started his trial on the deadly disease scurvy. In 1747 Lind was serving as a surgeon on HMS Salisbury. His trial consisted of 12 men with scurvy, grouped into pairs and given a variety of dietary supplements from cider to oranges and lemons. After six days, there was a noticeable improvement in the group eating the fruit, providing evidence of the link between citrus fruits and scurvy. Clinical trials have developed a great deal since Lind's discovery and are of vital importance in medical research.