UCLH Research Gateway launches

The 'UCLH Research Gateway' gives access to information on all studies that are recruiting volunteers at UCLH and lets you search for trials specific to you in areas like diabetes or breast cancer.

This online portal will be kept up to date with new studies added and closed ones removed.

UCLH is a world-class leader in clinical research and can have over 1,000 research projects taking place at any one time. Clinicians work closely with scientists at UCL to make advances in medical research that will directly benefit patients and save lives. Each year thousands of patients volunteer to take part in these studies.

Forty-year-old-mother-of-four Caroline Presho who donated tissue to the EpiFemCare research project, looking at the early causes of breast and ovarian cancer, had a go at using the UCLH Research Gateway. Caroline said it was a great opportunity to tap into trials at UCLH: "It is easy to use and gives people access to amazing research, ensuring they are able to take advantage of the trials happening at UCLH. Clinical research is really important and I like to think that my tissue donation will end up aiding research people will know about in the future."

Caroline donated her tissue when she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a precautionary measure.

Caroline, who tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation seven years ago, says: "I already had a preventative double mastectomy in 2008 which cut my risk of developing breast cancer from 85% to 2% soon after finding out I carried the BRCA2 gene.

"I felt happy knowing that I had been able to take advantage of the knowledge I had been given and do something with it. I was also delighted to assist with clinical research into the area of women's cancer".

Dr Dan Riesel, a Research Associate who works on the EpiFemCare project, said: "The UCLH Research Gateway is really vital work, because both clinicians and patients have a need to reach out to each other. They have mutual and reciprocal needs: patients want better care and clinicians want to be able to recruit patients for clinical trials. It's wonderful UCLH is investing in this area".

View the 'Find a study' database

For more information on EpiFemCare visit www.epifemcare.eu