Be Part of Research

In 2018/19 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT)  supported an incredible 453 research studies and recruited 20,983 people. 

Research studies come in all shapes and sizes, covering a wide range of topics aimed at all different age groups.

To find out about current recruiting Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust research studies, visit https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/ and search for Leeds.  

Be part of research

What is Research? 

Research helps us increase our knowledge about human health and wellbeing. This is so we can:

  • Provide life changing treatments
  • Diagnose diseases earlier or more accurately
  • Prevent people from developing conditions
  • Improve health and care for generations to come
  • Ensure everyone has a better quality of life.

Overall, the aim is to find out whether what is being tested is better than what is currently available. This can include therapies, medicines and services.

Although health professionals already know a great deal, there are still so many questions that need answers.

What are Clinical Trials?

All clinical trials of new medicines go through a series of phases to test whether they’re safe and whether they work. The medicines will usually be tested against another treatment called a control. This will either be a dummy treatment (a placebo) or a standard treatment already in use.

Phase 1 trials:

A small number of people, who may be healthy volunteers, are given the medicine.
The drug is being trialled in human volunteers for the first time. Researchers test for side effects and calculate what the right dose might be to use in treatment. Researchers start with small doses and only increase the dose if the volunteers do not experience any side effects, or if they only experience minor side effects.

Phase 2 trials:

The new medicine is tested on a larger group of people who are ill. This is to get a better idea of its effects in the short term.

Phase 3 trials:

Carried out on medicines that have passed phases 1 and 2. The medicine is tested in larger groups of people who are ill, and compared against an existing treatment or a placebo to see if it’s better in practice and if it has important side effects. Trials often last a year or more and involve several thousand patients.

Phase 4 trials:

The safety, side effects and effectiveness of the medicine continue to be studied while it’s being used in practice. Not required for every medicine. Only carried out on medicines that have passed all the previous stages and have been given marketing licences – a licence means the medicine is available on prescription.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The UK’s largest health research funder the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has put together a list of FAQs about health research studies. Click here to read them.