Keele Clinical Trials Unit

29/05/2026

Celebrating International Clinical Trials Day! 🧬

On the 20th May we celebrated international Clinical trials day by partnering with and going into Newcastle Under-Lyme high street to promote all the ways you can support and get involded in research! We also showcased what amazing work we do at Keele Clinical Trials Unit at the Internaional Clinical Trials day Showcase at The Queen Elizebeth Hospital Birmigham. We appreciate everyone working in research and clinical trials whose work continues to make a difference in healthcare everyday 💙

26/05/2026

☀️ Pop down to Saint Michael’s Church in Northwood today — we’re here until 1pm talking all things Health Research alongside our colleagues from Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

You can also pick up the latest copy of our newsletter and sign up to our mailing list while you’re here.

Come and say hello, have a chat, and enjoy the sunshine with us! 💙

19/05/2026

📣 Join Us to Celebrate International Clinical Trials Day & 20 Years of NIHR! 🎉

🗓 When: Wednesday 20th May
⏰ Time: 9:30am – 2:30pm
📍 Where: Guildhall, Newcastle town centre

We’ll be joining our colleagues from Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust to celebrate International Clinical Trials Day and 20 years of the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

If you’re in Newcastle, come along and say hello! 👋

You’ll have the chance to:
✅ Ask questions about health research
✅ Take part in our mock clinical trial
✅ Learn more about research opportunities
✅ Sign up to our newsletter

We’d love to see you there!

19/05/2026

Great day at the Creative Methods Showcase hosted at Keele University 🎭📊

Today we showcased our mock trial activity to demonstrate the importance of randomisation in clinical trials, while also sharing more about the services we provide here at the CTU.

We’ve really enjoyed chatting with attendees throughout the day, hearing about their work, and exploring creative approaches to research engagement. We hope everyone who stopped by found it useful and engaging!

18/05/2026

📣Our brand new CTU Newsletter has dropped! Packed with updates from across our amazing research and trial teams!

📩Don’t miss what’s happening across Keele CTU - Sign up here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/aSy65FEJbQ

13/05/2026

🧠 Mental Health Awareness Week: Spotlight on the PETRA Study

This Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re proud to share an update on the PETRA study — an important piece of research focused on improving treatment for anxiety.

✅ Recruitment Complete
We’re pleased to announce that recruitment to the PETRA study has now closed, with 538 participants joining from GP practices across London, Bristol, the North West Coast, and the West Midlands.

🔍 What happens next?
Participants are now taking part in follow-up assessments, which will continue until October 2026. These next stages are crucial in helping us better understand how to support people experiencing anxiety.

💡 What is the PETRA study?
The PETRA study is exploring whether combining an antidepressant with pregabalin can improve outcomes for people with anxiety when antidepressants alone haven’t been effective.
Many people experiencing depression and low mood are prescribed antidepressants by their GP, and these medications can also help with anxiety symptoms. However, they are only effective for about half of people experiencing anxiety.
This study aims to find out whether adding pregabalin — a medication already known to help with anxiety — can make a meaningful difference when used alongside antidepressants.

👥 Who is leading the research?
PETRA is a collaborative study led by researchers at UCL, the University of Bristol, and Keele University. The Chief Investigator is Professor Glyn Lewis (UCL).

💬 This Mental Health Awareness Week, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing research that could lead to better, more effective treatments for anxiety.

12/05/2026

💡 This morning’s INCCCA session focused on the importance of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) in health and social care research, led by Trial Manager Steff Garvin.

🩺 The session highlighted how research being done ‘with’ or ‘by’ patients and the public — rather than simply about them — helps improve the relevance, quality, ethics and impact of research.

👥 PPIE means involving patients, carers and members of the public in shaping research from the very beginning — helping researchers design studies that are more relevant, accessible and meaningful for the communities they aim to support. From improving participant information to helping shape research priorities, patient and public voices play a vital role in ensuring research reflects real-world experiences and needs.

⭐ A key message throughout the session was that good research involves patients and the public from the very beginning, helping ensure studies are more relevant, accessible and impactful for the communities they aim to serve.

👏 Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion.

🔗 To find out more about the INCCCA programme, click here: https://www.keele.ac.uk/ctu/forresearchers/educationandtraining/inccca/

Keele Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is working with the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand and the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia to deliver ‘A Practical Induction to Increasing Capacity and Capability in Clinical Trials’.

11/05/2026

A few weeks ago, it was Administration Appreciation Day, and it gave us an idea…

We asked our team: “What do you appreciate most about our admin team?” ❤️

The responses were thoughtful, heartfelt, and a reminder of just how much happens behind the scenes every single day. From keeping everything organised to supporting our teams and making sure nothing falls through the cracks — our admin team truly keeps the wheels turning.

Quite simply, the cogs wouldn’t tick without them.

To our incredible admin team: thank you for everything you do. Your hard work, dedication, and support never go unnoticed. 👏

05/05/2026

Happy belated birthday to our lovely Pat, who attends our Community Lounge! 🎉

Come rain or shine, Pat joins us every month, always bringing her pearls of wisdom. Your insights and experience are truly valuable, and we are so grateful to have you as part of our community.

We hope you had a wonderful day.
From everyone at the iNSPIRE Community Lounge and Keele CTU