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Clinical Studies and Trials

We are committed to translating our innovative research into clinical benefit. From new methods of diagnosing chronic conditions, to finding the latest treatments for diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and rare diseases, our department is involved in hundreds of clinical studies every year.

© Martin Phelps

We have unique world leading expertise in proof-of-concept, efficacy and mega-trials through our Diabetes Trials Unit  – a fully registered UKCRC Clinical Trials Unit, which orchestrates and delivers multi-centre trials for the latest diabetes drugs.



Groups within this theme

The Diabetes Trials Unit (DTU) is a clinical trials unit specialising in performing local, national and multinational clinical trials related to treating and managing diabetes and other cardiometabolic and related conditions.
Adler Group: Diabetes Trials Unit
The Akbar Lab is interested in defining the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of extracellular vesicles for immunomodulation and precision medicine in cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases.
Akbar Group: Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiovascular, Inflammatory and Metabolic Disease
Our group studies the interplay between adipose tissue and the cardiovascular system. Using translational approaches, we develop novel diagnostic tools for the early detection of cardiovascular diseases and risk stratification. We also work towards the discovery of new therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, in the context of obesity and diabetes.
Antoniades Group: The Oxford Translational Cardiovascular Research Group
Ashrafian Group: Experimental Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology
Ashrafian Group: Experimental Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology
The CRM group’s principal research interests are the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms and the resynchronisation of abnormal electrical conduction in heart failure patients. There is a particular focus on the use of novel and emerging technologies.
Betts Group: Cardiac Rhythm Management
The Laboratory of Cerebral Ischemia is a pre-clinical research group aiming to discover both the mechanisms which underlie cell death in stroke and to develop novel strategies to reduce this.
Buchan Group: Laboratory of Cerebral Ischemia
Our programme of work aims to understand nitric oxide (NO) and redox signalling in healthy and diseased myocardium, with a particular focus on atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Building on the resources and original discoveries that we have made recently, we plan to test novel interventions that aim to correct the myocardial substrate that promotes the new onset of AF, or HFpEF, or prevent the adverse atrial remodelling that is induced by AF.
Casadei Group: Translational approaches in chronic cardiac disease
We work to understand how early changes in cells of the cardiovascular system, such as endothelial cells and leukocytes, are related to cardiovascular disease, with a particular focus on redox biology.
Channon Group: Cardiovascular functional genomics and redox signalling
This translational science laboratory aims to understand the functionally important heterogeneity in human cardiovascular disease to allow stratification of pathology and enable targeted therapies.
Choudhury Group: Understanding Inflammatory processes in Atherosclerosis and Acute Myocardial Infarction
We are investigating how iron and anaemia influence immunity and infectious diseases. Our research inspires treatments that control iron physiology to benefit the host at the expense of pathogens.
Drakesmith Group: Iron and Immunity
We have expertise in the study of heart disease using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), particularly quantitative techniques such as myocardial T1-mapping.
Ferreira Group: Quantitative cardiac magnetic resonance myocardial tissue characterisation
We are developing gene therapy for lung conditions, including the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and neonatal lung conditions such as surfactant protein B (SPB) deficiency. We are also evaluating whether the lung can be used as a ‘protein factory’ to make therapeutic proteins such as antibodies.
Gill and Hyde Group: Gene Medicine Group
We apply an integrated approach to human metabolic disease which involves genetic, genomic, cell biology and whole body metabolic studies to understand the pathogenesis of the complications of obesity such as fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Karpe, Hodson and Christodoulides Group: Metabolic Research Group
We lead colorectal cancer clinical trials, and study the basic biology of non-angiogenic and angiogenic tumours and mechanisms of vascular co-option.
Kerr and Pezzella Group: Colorectal Clinical and Pathology Group
Our group aims to make early diagnosis and continuous check-ups for (vascular) diseases accurate, affordable, and accessible for everyone. We focus on women’s vascular health and global health and aim to better understand the impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on the brain.
Lapidaire Group: Brain Health Vascular Imaging
Our aim is to develop better ways to identify early disease and improve cardiovascular health for young people. This is achieved by undertaking work in three areas: (1) Identification of novel markers of early disease to better understand how disease becomes established (2) Performing cardiovascular prevention trials in young adults to understand how to modify early disease and improve health (3) Application of artificial intelligence to imaging and research datasets to identify next generation imaging and management approaches.
Leeson Group: Preventive Cardiology Research Group
Our expertise is in clinical trials, whereby we aim to discover novel treatments for improving the health of patients with cardiac diseases. We use cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and spectroscopy techniques to improve our understanding of myocardial metabolism and function, and for early detection of cardiac abnormalities in cardiomyopathy, heart failure, valve disease and diabetes. We use cardiopulmonary exercise test to understand cardiovascular exercise physiology, by studying how oxygen and other nutrients are used by the heart during exercise. We work closely with multidisciplinary research teams including MR physicists, biomedical engineers and other cardiac imaging experts in the UK and elsewhere in the world.
Mahmod group
The Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology (HSCB) Laboratory is focused on understanding how the normal haematopoietic stem/progenitor hierarchy is disrupted during the development of myeloid malignancies. Our overarching aim is to improve the management of myeloproliferative neoplasms and related conditions through better monitoring and therapeutic targeting of malignant stem cell populations.
Mead Group: Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology
Increasing and disseminating the evidence-base to improve practice in Transfusion Medicine.
Murphy, Roberts and Stanworth Group: Oxford Clinical Research in Transfusion Medicine
We investigate diseases of the heart valves – how widespread the problem is, what the causes are, who is at risk from future problems and what treatments can improve outcomes for patients.
Myerson Group: Heart Valve Disease
OCMR uses sophisticated cardiac MR imaging and spectroscopy methods to phenotype cardiovascular disease – in small-scale proof-of-principle studies, large-scale multicentre clinical trials and ultra-large scale population imaging programmes. As well as running their own research programmes, OCMR serves as a collaboration partner to any group wanting to strengthen their clinical research with state of the art non-invasive phenotyping tools.
Neubauer Group: Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research
Our group investigates how MR techniques can be used to improve the care of patients with liver disease. The scope of our work is broad and ranges from evaluation of mature MR techniques in large multicentre studies, to proof-of-concept studies using new methods, or new clinical applications of existing technologies.
Pavlides Group: Quantitative MR and liver disease
We aim to further improve the clinical value of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance with application of advanced image analysis techniques.
Piechnik Group: Myocardial functional T1 mapping – Advanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging techniques
We work on circadian rhythms, and nuclear receptors applied to both inflammation and energy metabolism. Our models range from cells to human populations.
Ray Group
We use multi-parametric cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to non-invasively investigate the relationship between cardiac metabolism and cardiac function.
Rider Group: Obesity, Heart Failure, Linking Myocardial Metabolism and Function
We define how the immune system functions in the intestine to promote health. We uncover the immune pathogenesis of intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease to develop better ways to treat these disorders.
Simmons Group: Intestinal Immunity in Health and Disease
The aim of the group is to understand, at the molecular and cellular level, the role of human cutaneous immune responses in mechanisms of disease, treatment and vaccination. We have a particular focus on T cells which recognise inflammatory lipids presented by CD1a. As well as contributing to an understanding of disease pathogenesis, we aim to translate our findings to changes in clinical practice.
Skin Immunology Group
We work to understand how hormones regulate metabolic health in liver, fat and skeletal muscle. Our research has helped to define the role of ‘pre-receptor’ hormone metabolism in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease and has contributed to the development of novel interventions with the ultimate aim of improving patient care.
Tomlinson Group: Metabolism and Steroid Hormone Biology
We aim to understand the fundamental biological processes underlying normal and malignant haematopoiesis and translate this to improve patient outcomes through new rational therapies.
Vyas Group: Biology and Treatment of Human Myeloid Cancers
The overall aim of our research program is to improve iron nutrition and reduce anaemia in women and children, directly supporting the U.N.'s 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Zero Hunger’.
Zimmermann Group: Iron Nutrition - Stable Isotopes and Therapeutics

Clinical Trials and Research Governance

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