New medical trials centre at Nottingham

A new unit specifically built to help medical scientists develop their research into more effective treatments for patients is being unveiled at The University of Nottingham today (May 9, 2011)

The newly refurbished wing within the Medical School section of the Queen’s Medical Centre is a state-of-the-art, tailor-made space for evaluating new treatments in patients from the East Midlands and across the UK.

It is the first time medical researchers in Nottingham and the wider region have had access to a multi-disciplinary Clinical Research Facility attached to a hospital where they can test out new treatments, diagnostic methods and drugs developed by their clinical translational research projects.

The bookable ‘hotel-style’ unit will be used by doctors from a wide variety of disciplines as well as other universities, research institutes and the commercial sector. It will also benefit the patient volunteers who take part in the trials because of its easy access to and from the hospital and the range of cutting-edge diagnostic tests and treatments available.

The new wing will be supported by the existing infrastructure and expertise within the Medical School, including a Clinical Trials Unit which provides statistical, data management and regulatory support for clinical trials.

The facility will also give medical researchers access to a new imaging suite including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner facility which will be specialising in lung diseases. A second, larger MRI (3Tesla) scanner is also being installed to support clinical research for other illnesses, particularly those affecting the brain.

The unit consists of a suite of rooms including beds for up to eight patients or healthy volunteers, administrative offices, a large ‘hotdesk’ office space for researchers, two laboratories and a storage area with six -80oC freezers for blood and tissue samples.

archived May 10, 2011