Clinical research support
Explore the teams providing essential support and services to anyone planning a clinical research project.
The College's clinical research infrasturcture underpins and enables our world-class clinical research portfolio. It is essential that you notify, and consult with, the appropriate teams as early as possible when planning a clinical research study, so that you can secure the necessary authorisations, approvals and advice on time.
Funding opportunities for clinical trials
You can look for funding specifically for clinical trials in a dedicated funding calendar.
Clinical trials funding calendar (requires MyEd login)
Intention to Submit policy
The College Intention to Submit policy, effective from 1 October 2021, recommends that researchers notify their Edinburgh Research Office Funding Specialist at least eight weeks in advance of the funder deadline using the online Intention to Submit form. Applications received less than five working days (non-clinical trial) or four weeks (clinical trial) will require formal approval from Head of Centre to be submitted.
Intent to Submit policy information and form
Find your Research Funding Specialist (requires EASE login)
This policy ensures that all the relevant teams have adequate time to provide costings and other advice prior to submission.
Sponsorship - ACCORD
All health research involving humans, their tissue or data requires a sponsor; this is based on the UK Framework Policy for Health and Social Care Policy. The sponsor is not the funder; it is the institution that takes responsibility for the overall management and conduct of a study and ensures that, for example:
- the project is legal, ethical, feasible and safe
- insurance and indemnity are in place
- correct approvals are in place.
The University's Sponsorship team for CMVM is based within the Academic and Clinical Central Office for Research and Development (ACCORD); a joint office between the University and NHS Lothian. Please contact the ACCORD team as soon as possible when planning a clinical research study.
NHS research costs
Where research involves NHS patients and/or resources, a NHS Lothian Finance Grant Review form must be completed to allow costs to be provided by the R&D Finance team for funding applications.
To contact the NHS R&D Finance team, please email: ResearchGrants@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
A Schedule of Events Cost Attribution Template (SoECAT) is required by some funders for non-commercial studies involving NHS patients to ensure that site-level research costs are recovered. It is the responsibility of the lead applicant to complete the SoECAT, and it must be signed off by an accredited specialist.
Your research funding specialist can advise if this is relevant for your funding application. Please allow at least 15 working days to provide NHS costs for funding applications.
Early-stage clinical research - the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility (CRF)
A joint venture between the University and NHS Lothian, the CRF provides state-of-the-art facilities, including building space and highly qualified research nursing staff, to support multidisciplinary clinical research locally, nationally and internationally.
Operating on both the Western General Hospital site and Edinburgh Bioquarter, CRF's expertise focuses particularly on early-stage, Phase I and first-in-human studies. CRF also runs a variety of face-to-face and online courses on a range of topics relating to clinical research.
Clinical Research Facility website
CRF also runs a variety of face-to-face and online courses on a range of topics relating to clinical research
CRF courses and events schedule
Clinical trial development, design and delivery: Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit (ECTU)
ECTU is a UK Clinical Trials Council (UKCTC)-accredited unit that provides the infrastructure, including trial management teams, data managers, statisticians and health economists to help you develop, design and deliver clinical trials.
ECTU can offer various levels of support according to the complexity of the trial and the needs of the research team; please contact ECTU as soon as possible when planning your grant application for a trial.
University of Edinburgh clinical trials strategy
The University's clinical trials strategy, underpinned by the University's existing research strategies, aims to prioritise ECTU's purpose and core expertise in its pursuit to deveop, design and deliver world-class clinical trials.
University of Edinburgh Clinical Trials strategy (310.86 KB PDF)
Clinical trials oversight group (CTOG)
CTOG provides oversight of the pathway for investigator-led, locally sponsored clinical trials at the University of Edinburgh.
The overarching aim is to ensure the academic and financial success of the clinical trials pipeline. Its membership comprises ECTU, ACCORD, CRF, the Edinburgh Research Office and the CMVM Research Office.
Clinical trials oversight group
Contact us
If you have any questions about clinical research support services, please contact Ismar Haga (ismar.haga@ed.ac.uk)