MRC CTU Podcasts MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL

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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk
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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

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 mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk

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