What do our Operations Groups Do?
The Network’s Operations Groups provide opportunities for professional development through peer-to-peer support, networking events, the creation of training and guidance materials and sharing learning and best practice.
Each Operations Group leads a programme of work with the aims of;
- Identifying challenges and developing solutions together
- Highlighting challenges which require a policy response
- Identifying opportunities to improve efficient trial conduct
- Sharing best practice and developing practical guidance on good research practice and quality standards for non-commercial trials
- Contributing to national and internationally led new initiatives within the clinical research community; and
- Representing the views of Registered CTUs.
How do our Operations Groups work?
The Operations Groups develop an annual programme of individual and cross-Group deliverables to support these aims. These deliverables are agreed with the UKCRC CTU Executive Group. Operations Groups activities are underpinned by a set of General Terms of Reference.
Groups often set up sub- or working groups to deal with specific short-term projects such as the development of a discrete piece of guidance.
You can find out a bit more about the currently active operations groups via the links below.
Statistics
The Group aims to create opportunities for open dialogue and knowledge sharing between statisticians across the Network in order to reach consensus on the most effective methods and solutions to common statistical challenges, support the use of appropriate novel methods in trial design, and promote career options for statisticians in CTUs.
Find out more about the Statistics Group’s activities here.
Membership
Stephen Bremner (Joint Chair) – King’s Clinical Trials Unit
Jo Haviland (Joint Chair) – Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit
Piers Gaunt – CRUK Clinical Trials Unit
Catriona Keerie – Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit
Elaine Nicholls – Keele Clinical Trials Unit
Rachel Phillips – Imperial Clinical Trials Unit
Data & Information Systems
The Group aims to foster an open, collaborative, and supportive environment where data managers and IS professionals can exchange expertise and best practices. Our goal is to ensure the provision of robust, secure, and regulatory-compliant IT systems and processes in the non-commercial research environment.
Find out more about the Data and IS Group’s activities here.
Membership
Amanda Loban (Joint Chair) – Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit
John Turgoose (Joint Chair) – Hull Health Trials Unit
Lindsey Masters (Deputy Chair) – MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
Paigan Aspinal – Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit
Vanessa Gregory – Diabetes Trials Unit
Nigel Kirby – Centre for Trials Research
Charlotte Stuart – Southampton Clinical Trials Unit
Quality Assurance
Our Quality Assurance group discusses aspects relating to the complex research environment in which CTUs operate to help ensure that trials are undertaken in an ethical and regulatory compliant way. They foster relationships with regulatory bodies, sites, and industry partners to facilitate a collaborative approach to managing regulatory changes and promoting best practice,
Find out more about the QA Group’s activities here.
Membership
Will Cragg (Chair) – Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit
Emily Swinburne (Deputy Chair) – Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit
Eloise Britten – Imperial Clinical Trials Unit
Andrea Cradduck-Bamford – Oxford CTSU
Jill Fleming – CaCTUS
Melanie Lewcock – Bristol Trials Centre
Conor McKee – Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit
Trial Management
Our primary aim is to develop and share best practices to promote high-quality, effective trial management in member CTUs.
Find out more about the Trial Management Group’s activities here.
Membership
Vicki Barber (Chair) – Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit
Gina Cranswick (Deputy Chair) – Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit
Jaclyn Bailey – Warwick Clinical Trials Unit
Sonia Fox – CRUK Clinical Trials Unit
Alexa Gillman – Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Hugh Jarrett – Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit
Alison Jenkins – NWORTH
Rachel Lowe – Centre for Trials Research
Matt Northgraves – Hull Health Trials Unit
Carla Richardson – Leicester Clinical Trials Unit
Natalie Wakefield – UK Trial Managers’ Network Representative
Monitoring
The group was established to promote high-quality and effective trial monitoring approaches in non-commercial research. By focusing on collaborative discussions with trial monitors, regulators, and other stakeholders, and the production of guidance, training, and other knowledge sharing activities, we aim to enhance monitoring policies and practices throughout the registered CTU community.
Find out more about the Monitoring Group’s activities here.
Membership
Sharon Love (Chair) – MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
Andrea Corkhill (Deputy Chair) – Southampton Clinical Trials Unit
Carrie Bayliss – Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit
Melanie Boulter – Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit
Jo Grumett – Warwick Clinical Trials Unit
Emma Laing – Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre
Cara Mooney / Lizzie Swaby – Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit
Patricia Rafferty – Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit
Krista Wills – CR UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre
Chief Investigator Network Group
This group will use their collective expertise to develop and share best practice in building stronger relationships and collaborations between Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) and the chief investigator (CI) community in the conduct of clinical trials.
Find out more about the Chief Investigator Network Group’s activities here.
Membership
Rustam Salman (Chair) – Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit
Tom Hellyer (Deputy Chair) – Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit
Amy Ahern – Cambridge Epidemiology & Trials Unit
Ceri Battle – Swansea Trials Unit
Ashwin Dhanda – Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit
David Griffith – Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit
Anna Kirby – The Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Liz Lightbody – Lancashire Clinical Trials Unit
Katie Morris – Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit
Jon Packham – Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit
David Russell – Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit
Rona Smith – Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit
Tom Waterfield – Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit
David Westlake – Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE), Cardiff University
Operations Management Group
This group brings together the leads of the Network’s various operations and thematic groups to discuss national priorities and group activities.
Find out more about the Operations Management Group’s activities here.
Membership
Helen Evans (OMG Chair) – UKCRC Registered CTU Network Programme Manager
Liz Allaway (Research Inclusion Thematic Group Chair) – Southampton Clinical Trials Unit
Vicki Barber (Trial Management Operations Group Chair) – Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit
Stephen Bremner (Stats Operations Group Joint Chair) – Brighton and Sussex Clinical Trials Unit
Andrea Corkhill (Monitoring Operations Group Deputy Chair) – Southampton Clinical Trial
Will Cragg (QA Operations Group Chair) – Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit
Melissa Dobson (Research Inclusion Thematic Group Deputy Chair) – Oxford Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit
Lisa Fox (Sustainability Thematic Group Co-Chair) – Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Jo Haviland (Stats Operations Group Joint Chair) – Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit
Tom Hellyer (Chief Investigator Network Group Deputy Chair) – Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit
James Lee (AI Thematic Group Chair) – Oxford Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit
Amanda Loban (Data & IS Operations Group Joint Chair) – Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit
Sharon Love (Monitoring Operations Group Chair) – MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
Lindsey Masters (Data & IS Operations Group Deputy Chair) – MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
Eleanor Mitchell (Leadership Development Thematic Group Chair) – Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit
Nuria Porta (Methods into Practice Thematic Group Co-Chair) – Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials & Statistics Unit
Tom St David-Smith (Sustainability Thematic Group Co-Chair) – Leeds Clinical Trials Unit
Rustam Salman (Chief Investigator Network Group Chair) – Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit
John Turgoose (Data & IS Operations Group Joint Chair) – Hull Health Trials Unit
Sofia Villar (Methods into Practice Thematic Group Co-Chair) – Papworth Trials Unit Collaboration
