Keele Clinical Trials Unit

11/05/2026

A few weeks ago, it was Administration Appreciation Day, and it gave us an idea…

We asked our team: “What do you appreciate most about our admin team?” ❤️

The responses were thoughtful, heartfelt, and a reminder of just how much happens behind the scenes every single day. From keeping everything organised to supporting our teams and making sure nothing falls through the cracks — our admin team truly keeps the wheels turning.

Quite simply, the cogs wouldn’t tick without them.

To our incredible admin team: thank you for everything you do. Your hard work, dedication, and support never go unnoticed. 👏

05/05/2026

Happy belated birthday to our lovely Pat, who attends our Community Lounge! 🎉

Come rain or shine, Pat joins us every month, always bringing her pearls of wisdom. Your insights and experience are truly valuable, and we are so grateful to have you as part of our community.

We hope you had a wonderful day.
From everyone at the iNSPIRE Community Lounge and Keele CTU

30/04/2026

Stress looks different for everyone — and so does stress relief.✨
This Stress Relief Month, we’re celebrating the little moments that help us reset, recharge, and keep going. From long walks to colouring, cross stitch, yoga or exercise… every small act counts.
How do you unwind during a busy day? 🌿

29/04/2026

We’re here in Hanley today alongside colleagues from Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue 👋
Come down and have a chat with us about health research and how you can get involved in shaping the future of local care.

📍 Fountain Square
🕙 Here from 10am–2pm

We’d love to see you!

29/04/2026

Don't forget it's the iNSPIRE Community Lounge's 1st Birthday today! 🎉

Pop down to Keele In Town for some cake and a brew and tell us about the health research topics that matter to you. ☕️

🎉 We’re turning ONE! 🎉

Join us at the iNSPIRE Community Lounge as we celebrate our 1st Birthday 🥳

This event is all about you — our amazing community — and your role in helping inspire health research locally 💙

📅 Wednesday 29th April
📍 Keele In Town
⏰ 10:00–12:00

✨ Come along, connect, and celebrate with us!
🍰 Free drinks and cake included!

We’d love to see you there 💫

28/04/2026

We’re teaming up with local partners tomorrow for a community event focused on improving health outcomes for our Black and Asian communities across Staffordshire — and everyone is welcome to be part of it!

If you are out and about in Hanley tomorrow please come and say hello! 👋🏼

📍 Fountain Square, Hanley
🗓 Wednesday 29 April
⏰ 10am – 2pm

We're joining up with local partners this month for a community event aimed at improving health outcomes for our Black and Asian communities across Staffordshire - and everyone is welcome to be part of it!

📍 Fountain Square, Hanley
🗓 Wednesday 29 April
⏰ 10am – 2pm

On the day, you'll be able to meet local police and fire services, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, as well as the NHS covering information on services, career pathways, fire safety, health research and more!

Make sure you step onboard the MPFT Research Bus and discover how health research is helping to improve health outcomes for your local community. You can chat with our team about how health research works, have an opportunity to share health data to support future studies, and get involved in research that could shape better healthcare for future generations.

Come and say hi between 10am and 2pm - we'd love for you to say hello!

27/04/2026

🎉 We’re turning ONE! 🎉

Join us at the iNSPIRE Community Lounge as we celebrate our 1st Birthday 🥳

This event is all about you — our amazing community — and your role in helping inspire health research locally 💙

📅 Wednesday 29th April
📍 Keele In Town
⏰ 10:00–12:00

✨ Come along, connect, and celebrate with us!
🍰 Free drinks and cake included!

We’d love to see you there 💫

22/04/2026

🌍 Happy Earth Day!

Today we’re excited to share a brilliant video from the Trials Methodology Research Partnership highlighting the link between clinical trials and sustainability.

At Keele, we’re committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our research. We’re actively exploring carbon‑footprinting tools and contributing to the UK Clinical Research Collaboration Network Sustainability Working Group to exchange ideas and drive greener, more sustainable trial practices.

Together, we can make research better for people and the planet. 💚

14/04/2026

Another great session today as part of the INCCCA programme 👏

INCCCA is a training and development programme designed to support people working in clinical research—helping them build the knowledge and skills needed to design and run high-quality clinical trials that improve patient care.

A big thank you to Senior Trials Manager Kendra Cooke for delivering such an engaging and insightful session 🙌

Today’s session explored how clinical trials are carefully designed to ensure results are fair, reliable, and meaningful. This included:
🧠 How researchers use different study designs to answer important health questions
📊 The role of randomisation (assigning participants by chance) and blinding (reducing bias)
🤝 How we support participants through clear information, recruitment, and informed consent

It was fantastic to encourage such great discussion—highlighting the importance of both scientific rigour and putting participants at the heart of research 💬✨

We’re looking forward to the next session in two weeks, where Trial Manager Steff Garvin will introduce the Trial Protocol—essentially the “blueprint” for how a clinical trial is run 📅

👉 To find out more about the INCCCA programme, click here: https://www.keele.ac.uk/ctu/forresearchers/educationandtraining/inccca/



British Council Malaysia
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Prince of Songkla University
Keele University
School of Medicine, Keele University

Keele Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is working with the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand and the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia to deliver ‘A Practical Induction to Increasing Capacity and Capability in Clinical Trials’.

09/04/2026

🐾🎉 It’s National Pet Month! 🎉🐾

Here at the CTU, we’re a team of proud pet lovers – and we couldn’t resist celebrating the amazing animals that brighten our lives every single day. 💛

From wagging tails to gentle purrs, our pets bring so much joy, comfort, and laughter into our homes. 🐶🐱🐰

💡 Did you know? Having a pet can:
✨ Boost your mood and reduce stress
✨ Encourage a more active lifestyle
✨ Provide companionship and reduce loneliness
✨ Even improve your overall wellbeing

We’re so lucky to have these wonderful companions as part of our extended CTU family – and we’re excited to share them with you! 📸🐾

☝️ Take a look at our furry friends and feel free to share yours in the comments – we’d love to see them!