Virtual event: The changing nature of clinical research: Perspectives from Sheffield during Covid-19 and beyond

Sheffield BRC > News > News stories > Virtual event: The changing nature of clinical research: Perspectives from Sheffield during Covid-19 and beyond

About the event

Never before have we seen the impact of clinical research in such a short space of time, with researchers and scientists making medical breakthroughs in record time to develop and test treatments and vaccines for a virus no-one had heard of 16 months ago.

And it’s not just the pace of research that’s changed, clinical research staff have adapted to new ways of working, going above and beyond to deliver urgent public health research.

At the same time, they have been taking all precautions possible to limit the spread of Covid-19 and investigating how to increase diversity among clinical trial participants.

Led by an expert panel of clinicians and researchers from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the University of Sheffield, this live online panel discussion looked at

  • the progress made in finding treatments and vaccines for Covid-19

  • the remarkable strides that have been made in how health researchers have adapted to the challenges presented by the pandemic

  • how this might affect health research going forward

Key speakers

  • Dr Paul Collini, Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Clinical Lecturer, the University of Sheffield “The development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines”

  • Professor Cindy Cooper, Director of the Clinical Trials Research Unit in Sheffield, the University of Sheffield “Adaptations to clinical trial design and delivery”

  • Dr Thomas Harrison, Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust “Involving diverse communities in research”

The panel discussion was hosted by Professor Simon Heller, Director of Research and Development at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Supporting

This event ran in support of the National Institute for Health Research’s Be Part of Research campaign and International Clinical Trials Day 2021.

International Clinical Trials Day commemorates when the first controlled clinical trial was conducted on 20 May 1747. Since then, research has played a vital role in improving healthcare for everyone.

Information on national opportunities to be involved in research can be found on the Be Part of Research website.

Information for patients and the public on how to get involved in the disease areas covered by the BRC can be found on our patient and public page. For all other areas of research at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, visit the Clinical Research and Innovation website.