New Joint Webinar Programme Announced
09-01-2021
International Women’s Day is a chance to highlight how women are helping shape research that responds to real-world needs, through collaboration, care and evidence.
Days like this remind us that science is not only about discoveries, but about people – and about creating space for women and girls to lead, contribute and shape research that has the potential to improve lives.
Find out more about some of the trials being done around the Network to improve women’s health below.
The SunPad study at the Centre for Trials Research at Cardiff University, is exploring the use of self-cleaning reusable period products in remote rural communities in Nepal. The study is focused on understanding whether the products are practical, acceptable and safe to use in everyday life, and how they might support menstrual health where access to disposable products is limited.
Rebecca Milton, a Research Associate and Trial Manager at the Centre, is part of the team delivering this work alongside her PhD in global maternal and neonatal health.
Her role involves working closely with researchers, partners and communities to make sure the study is carried out carefully, ethically and in a way that reflects local realities rather than assumptions made from afar.
The work brings together scientists from Cardiff University with partners in Nepal, including Global Action Nepal and Tribhuvan University.
Spending time with communities, schools and local health services has been a vital part of the study, helping the team understand daily practices, cultural contexts and what matters most to women and girls themselves.
The SunPad research is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is grounded in a simple question: can an innovative idea work in the real world, and could it help reduce health risks and stigma linked to menstruation? Answering that requires not just laboratory science, but careful field research, listening and trust.
Read more: https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/centre-for-trials-research/sunpad-study-nepal-visit-2024/
Led by Dr Kirsten Barnicot of City St George’s, University of London, the BOOST-3 Trial is a women’s health study addressing moderate-severe or complex perinatal mental illness. This 48-month multicentre trial, starting in March 2026 evaluates VIPP-PMH, a video-feedback intervention designed to empower mothers and birthing people (MABP) by highlighting positive parent-infant interactions.
By comparing VIPP-PMH against specialist care across ten NHS Trusts, Dr Barnicot’s research prioritizes maternal sensitivity and confidence. This women-led initiative aims to provide the definitive evidence needed to update NICE guidelines, ensuring long-term mental health support is accessible and effective for new mothers nationwide.
Dr Victoria Goss, Associate Professor of Early Diagnosis and Translational Research at the UKCRC Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, is part of a team running a new trial is testing whether a specialist medical tampon could be the answer to the low rates of early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
The VIOLET study will use the tampon, plus other methods of sample collection, to look for the earliest clues that cancer may be present, particularly in women at a higher risk of developing the disease.
The trial is being led by Dr Jemma Longley, Consultant Medical Oncologist at University Hospital Southampton, alongside colleagues from the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and the Centre for Cancer Immunology at the University of Southampton, and is funded by a grant from The Eve Appeal.
Find out more about the VIOLET study here https://www.southampton.ac.uk/ctu/news/2026/02/could-a-tampon-help-improve-the-early-diagnosis-of-ovarian-cancer.page
The TRIUMPH study, led by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with Newcastle University, is working to understand why some women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis continue to feel unwell even when their thyroid hormone treatment is optimised. Many still experience ongoing fatigue, aches and pains, weight changes and difficulties with concentration, which can have a real impact on daily life.
The study is exploring whether these symptoms may be linked to inflammation inside the thyroid gland, and whether an anti‑inflammatory medicine called mycophenolate mofetil could help. Women taking part receive either mycophenolate mofetil or a placebo for four months, alongside regular health checks, blood tests, questionnaires and thyroid imaging to track changes in symptoms and inflammation.
By focusing on a condition that predominantly affects women of working age, TRIUMPH is helping to address a long‑standing gap in understanding and improving quality of life for those living with persistent symptoms.
Read more: https://www.triumphtrial.co.uk/
You can find out more about some of the inspirational women working across the Network here.
Read our piece marking International Day of Women and Girls in Science here.
If you have any questions about the site, please feel free to contact us. We are always looking for ways to better serve our members - YOU are important to us!
If you have any questions about the site, please feel free to contact us. We are always looking for ways to better serve our members - YOU are important to us!
