Training the next generation of clinical researchers

A trial produces evidence. It should also leave behind people and systems that can run the next one.

The CTU is recognised by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, for hands-on training in clinical trials, and currently supports three fully funded PhD positions with international and local supervision. We support the online MSc in clinical trials conducted by the University of Oxford and contribute to the periodic review of WHO training material.

We have conducted a Good Clinical Practice workshop for the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, and we run regular training workshops for research ethics committees and the Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry, strengthening oversight of clinical trials in the country.

In 2019 we launched the South Asia Forum for Innovations in Clinical Development, now a recognised regional platform. We also hosted the 53rd International Symposium on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, a residential ten-day programme for 40 researchers from around the world.

More than 150 medical specialists now collaborate with us across more than 22 hospitals. Each is part of the national capacity that makes the next trial possible.