MRC CTU Podcasts

Children with community-acquired pneumonia are usually treated with an injectable antibiotic for five days. This often means staying in hospital for the full treatment period, even when they are well enough to go home earlier.

The PediCAP trial tested a new approach designed to help children return home sooner while continuing to receive safe and effective care. In this episode, PediCAP team members Hilda Mujuru, Julia Bielicki and Michelle Clements discuss why the trial was needed, explain its innovative ROCI trial design, and share the results and what they mean for children, families and healthcare professionals.

More information about PediCAP: https://www.innovative-ctu.ucl.ac.uk/studies/all-studies/p/pedicap/

For questions or feedback on the podcast, message us at [email protected]

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ACORD is a pioneering collaboration that brings together experts from a wide range of disciplines to accelerate the development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

In this episode, we explore how ACORD works in practice, the innovative methodologies that underpin it, including the multi-arm, multi-stage trial design, and the opportunities it creates for researchers at different stages of their careers. We speak with James Carpenter, one of ACORD’s founders, and Ed Jabbari, an ACORD Fellow, about the vision behind the collaboration, its potential to transform clinical research in neurodegenerative diseases, and how it has shaped Ed’s career journey.

Further information is available on the ACORD collaboration page at www.innovative-ctu.ucl.ac.uk/.

At the start of October, lots of the Unit’s clinical trials methodology researchers travelled to Edinburgh, for the 7th International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference (ICTMC).

ICTMC is the largest academic-led conference on clinical trials, bringing together trialists from across the globe to present their latest work in trials methodology. This year's conference featured a wide variety of workshops, talks and poster presentations from MRC Clinical Trials Unit researchers.

In this latest episode of the Trial Talk podcast, four of the Unit’s early career researchers discuss the work they presented at ICTMC 2024.

Gideon Darko Asamoah tells us how he will deliver a core outcome set for trials in severe malaria; Jingyi Xuan describes her project addressing intercurrent events in platform trials; Dongquan Bi discusses the effects of different cluster sizes in cluster trials; and finally, Kate Roberts explains how she aims to improve the wording around consent for accessing trial participants' healthcare records.

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

For more information and to access the transcript: https://bit.ly/4f9grVi

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

More resources:

• Developing a core outcome set for severe malaria trials poster: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/posters/identifying-a-comprehensive-long-list-of-outcomes-for-developing-a-core-outcome-set-for-severe-malaria-treatment-trials-a-systematic-review-and-inclusion-of-outcomes-important-to-patients-and-caregivers/

• Specifying estimands and estimators in trials with complex designs poster: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/posters/specifying-estimands-and-estimators-in-trials-with-complex-designs/

• Demystifying estimands in cluster-randomised trials paper in Statistical Methods in Medical Research: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09622802241254197

• Estimands in cluster-randomised trials paper in International Journal of Epidemiology: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/52/1/107/6644521

• Current practice around the use of estimands in cluster randomised trials, and the impact of informative cluster size on inference poster: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/posters/current-practice-around-the-use-of-estimands-in-cluster-randomised-trials-and-the-impacts-of-informative-cluster-size-on-inferences/

• ICTMC 2024 Poster 167 – A rap song (Lyrics by Dongquan Bi, beat by David Fitzgerald): https://youtu.be/s7qZ5TnOlWU?si=iXwfFfSAWwJ-fAmk

• CrossWord poster: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/posters/crossword-consent-to-access-and-use-healthcare-systems-data-for-clinical-trials-a-review-of-current-language-in-participant-facing-materials/

UKCTOCS (UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening) is one of the largest screening trials in ovarian cancer. More than 200,000 women from England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in it, and it ran for almost two decades. Designing and running such a large and lengthy trial came with its own challenges. In this episode, Professor Usha Menon discusses the key challenges that UKCTOCS faced in its design, conduct an analysis, and how the team addressed them.

Further information is available on the UKCTOCS website at https://ukctocs.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/

Listen to the episode about the UKCTOCS trial results at https://bit.ly/48pK94J

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

For more information and to access the transcript: https://bit.ly/45XRyWT

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

In the first episode of our new Trial Talk series, Hanif Esmail and Conor Tweed take over the microphones to interview Andrew Nunn and Sarah Meredith, who have both recently retired from the Unit, having spent a combined total of 92 years working in the field of tuberculosis (TB).

As we celebrate Andrew and Sarah’s long and accomplished careers, we’ll dive into the history of TB clinical trials and muse on the future of TB research.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-stories/2024/january/new-podcast-episode-careers-in-tb-clinical-trials/

Check out our earlier podcast episodes about TB trials, also featuring Andrew Nunn:

• https://soundcloud.com/trial-talk-podcast/the-stream2-trial-how-should-we-treat-multi-drug-resistant-tuberculosis?si=013c930cbd184b7a93b64eb7101e57be&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

• https://soundcloud.com/trial-talk-podcast/andrew-nunn-talks-medical-statistics-tb-and-algerian-nomads-part-1?si=6b8c8c2da31a45fba323adbdd97c1f1b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

• https://soundcloud.com/trial-talk-podcast/andrew-nunn-talks-medical-statistics-tb-and-algerian-nomads-part-2?si=1723fbebd5d746079dddb12a139f0eed&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Every year on 1st December, we mark World AIDS Day to show solidarity in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and to remember those who have sadly lost their lives.

Since the start of the global AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, researchers have made enormous progress towards preventing HIV transmission, and treating those who are living with HIV so that the virus remains suppressed. But while there have been marked improvements for adults, treatment coverage in children and adolescents is lagging behind.

In the second of our World AIDS Day episodes, we highlight the important role that young people living with HIV play in research, by shaping clinical trials to better serve the needs of their community.

This episode features Lungile Jafta, who works closely with young people through Penta’s youth engagement programmes, and Gugu, a former Youth Trials Board member from South Africa who is living with HIV.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-stories/2023/december/trial-talk-podcast-releases-new-episodes-for-world-aids-day/

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Every year on 1st December, we mark World AIDS Day to show solidarity in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and to remember those who have sadly lost their lives.

Since the start of the global AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, researchers have made enormous progress towards preventing HIV transmission, and treating those who are living with HIV so that the virus remains suppressed. But while there have been marked improvements for adults, treatment coverage in children and adolescents is lagging behind.

In the first of our World AIDS Day episodes, Dr Anna Turkova, Clinical Principal Research Fellow at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, and Philippa Musoke, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at Makerere University, explore the reasons for these disparities and how the MRC CTU at UCL is working to close the gap between adults and children through clinical trials.

For more information and to access the transcript: https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-stories/2023/december/trial-talk-podcast-releases-new-episodes-for-world-aids-day/

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.

The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.

In the final part, we explore the role of people affected by MS in the Octopus trial. Susan Scott, a pharmaceutical publications specialist and Octopus patient representative, shares her involvement in the trial and explains how PPI has benefited Octopus so far.

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For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly/3S6FKP4

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.

The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.

In Part 3, MS experts Dawn Lyle and Matthew Justin walk us through the journey that trial participants take when taking part in Octopus, from how to register your interest in the trial, to what to expect on your first visit.

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For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly/3S6FKP4

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.

The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.

Part 2 of the series explores our Octopus trial in depth. Professor Jeremy Chataway, lead investigator of Octopus, discusses its novel design, the treatments it will test, and the criteria for people to take part. He also explains the data researchers will collect and analyse to find out if a treatment is working.

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For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly/3S6FKP4

For questions or feedback on the series, message us at [email protected]

As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g