Services we offer

Durham Clinical Trials Unit offers a range of trial support, subject to academic collaboration, including study design, project management, monitoring, study set up, analysis, randomisation services and advice on dissemination.

Durham Clinical Trials Unit works closely with the Research Design Service.

Initial advice on study design is available through the Research Design Service at Durham University. The RDS supports investigators in preparing research applications for NIHR funding or other national health and social care research funding bodies.

The Research Design Service (RDS) is free to use, providing advice and support to researchers to help them develop their proposal.  Advice may include clarifying the research question and objectives, details of applying quantitative and qualitative methods, patient and public involvement and guidance on team skills, resources and management. Advice may be provided through face-to-face meetings, over the telephone, by email or through their website.

If a decision is made to collaborate with the clinical trials unit, further support, with the trials unit team, will be available.

For trials that involve randomisation, we can provide an online randomisation service. As a fully automated service this provides randomisation access at times convenient to the research team and ensures concealment of allocation.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Wilkinson on 0191 334 0377.

Clinical trials are monitored:

1) To ensure the safety of participants on trials

2) To ensure that research data is accurate and valid

DCTU provide monitoring for trials using a risk assessment approach.