Clinical trials and cohort studies

Usher is home to the Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit – who develop, design and deliver world-class clinical trials. With health economic, methodological and statistical expertise the team support at all stages of the development and progress of clinical trials from trial planning to trial delivery and reporting. Teams across Usher lead large cohort studies, engaging and supporting volunteers who enroll on these studies as well as pushing forward methodologies including large scale clinical data linkage to maximise the value of research data collected.

image of covid molecules

Snapshot: Supporting the largest UK cohort of COVID-19 patients

ISARIC4C is an open, inclusive UK-wide collaboration of doctors and scientists committed to answering urgent questions about emerging infections and public health threats quickly, openly, and for the benefit of all. Since 2012 they have been preparing for outbreaks worldwide. Since the start of the outbreak of COVID-19, ISARIC4C has coordinated a number of medical and genomic studies across the UK to help guide pandemic response and discover new treatments. The study rapidly became the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. During its first 3 months, the ISARIC4C consortium expanded from the initial 34 co-investigators to more than 150 active contributors. Professor Ewen Harrison and Dr Annemarie Docherty are among the co-investigators on this influential and forward-thinking cohort study.

ISARIC4C website

Snapshot: Generation Scotland

Generation Scotland is a large study reflecting the lives of people in Scotland, following volunteer individuals and their families from childhood to old age. The team support partnerships between volunteers and researchers on pressing issues of health and well-being. They combine responses to questionnaires and detailed historic NHS records with innovative laboratory science and data analytics. They do this in the safest and most secure way possible. They support open science combined with public engagement and consultation, sharing findings to influence health policy and improve lives.

Generation Scotland website

This article was published on