UCLH celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

Activities were held in the UCLH atrium, the Clinical Research Facility, the Heart Hospital, the Eastman Dental Hospital, the Cancer Institute and the Royal National Ear Nose and Throat Hospital to raise awareness of UCH's active research programme and how it benefits patients.

At any one time UCH can have over 1,000 research projects taking place across a range of disciplines and has an outstanding international reputation for its research work. 

Year 10 students from local schools visited the Clinical Research Facility where they had the chance to extract DNA from fruit. 

The Heart Hospital opened its doors and demonstrated clinical trials to visitors by get them to measure the fat content in biscuits and cakes. There were also interactive stands featuring games and other tools, and a debate among staff on clinical trials. 

Members of the public were able to check out the new UCLH Research Gateway search engine for information on trials currently taking place at UCLH, and take the clinical trials quiz at the Joint Research Office stand in the UCLH atrium. 

The UCL Bioresource also had a successful day with a number of volunteers signing up to donate DNA to help researchers find out how genes influence disease.

International Clinical Trials Day is celebrated around the world on or near the 20 May each year, to commemorate the day that James Lind started his famous trial on the deadly disease scurvy. The theme for 2014 was 'It's OK to ask', aiming to give patients the confidence they need to ask their doctor or nurse about research they could take part in.