Clinical trials
Leading the way in clinical trial research
At the University of Sydney, we have over 500 clinical trials in progress at any one time, with around 100 new trials starting each year.
Most of our clinical trials take place in medicine and health sciences, including cancer research, medicinal cannabis therapy, mental health services, research into neurodegenerative disease, healthy ageing and exciting biomedical engineering applications.
We also conduct clinical trials in the psychological sciences, including important work on pain management, addiction and the psychological impacts of physical disease.
Trials conducted at the University of Sydney benefit from the world class clinical facilities, the clinical expertise in our affiliated hospitals and clinics, connections with health service providers and medical research institutes, including local health districts, and access to a large and diverse patient base. Our experts in biostatistics, health economics, integrating evidence and translational research are also here to support clinical trials.
Our start-up and governance support services for clinical trial researchers include contract development, ethics review, governance review, risk assessment, provision of clinical trial insurance for trials sponsored by the University, review of data management plans and review of REDCap projects to ensure compliance with ICH GCP requirements.
Our Clinical Trials Support Office provides training and support for our researchers, including risk assessments and site-specific assessments, providing advice on risk mitigation, and guidance on how to collect, store and manage data when conducting a clinical trial.
The University receives and administers significant funding for clinical trials through a combination of competitive funding programs, commercial and donor sources. Our specialist teams can help you secure competitive national funding, including NHMRC and ARC funding, and provide you with the backing to test new ideas, find new collaborators and scale the impact of your work. Learn more about funding support available to you.
We have several internal fellowships and grants to seed new initiatives and partnerships, allowing researchers to push the bounds of their discipline.
We can help you develop the skills and strategies you need to continue your clinical research success and progress your academic career. We offer advice, access to systems and training in areas such as writing successful grant applications, developing funding strategies, publishing and communicating your research, and leadership.
We welcome clinical research partnerships with industry leaders in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and device development. We connect our leading researchers and students with industry, business and government partners. We have both the experts and facilities to accommodate your clinical trial research needs.
The University of Sydney’s core research facilities provide access to high-end research infrastructure and offer a range of related services to assist researchers with specialist applications.
There are hundreds of clinical trials taking place throughout Australia covering a range of diseases and conditions. Often the best way to find out about clinical trials that may be suitable for you is to discuss it with your doctor.
We have a directory of our research studies, which includes some clinical trials and other health studies, such as online surveys. Our Save Sight Institute also lists clinical trials related to eye health.
In addition, the following websites have searchable lists of clinical trials looking for participants:
Clinical trials are a type of medical research where people volunteer to try treatments or tests used to prevent, detect, treat or manage various health conditions.
Clinical trials are important for the development of new treatments for diseases, as well as new ways to detect, diagnose, and reduce the chance of developing the disease. Clinical trial results provide data on the safety and effectiveness of tests and treatments being studied, influencing health outcomes through changes to health policy and health practice.
Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with strict rules and ethical considerations developed to ensure participant safety and integrity of the trial results. The Australian Government’s Australian Clinical Trials site has more information available.