Centre for Trials Research publishes 2025/26 annual report
14 October 2026
How the Centre for Trials Research works
The Centre for Trials Research at Cardiff University (CTR) is a registered clinical trials unit with the UK Registered Clinical Trials Unit Network. It works with researchers, the NHS, social care, industry, and patients and the public to design and run high-quality studies. These studies answer important questions about health and social care.
Core support from Welsh Government, via Health and Care Research Wales, and from Cardiff University gives the Centre the methodological and professional services capacity to connect with expertise across Wales and beyond. That support allows CTR to invest in the design and oversight of studies, and to win the external funding that pays for them.
This report shows what is possible when working in partnership and when backed by core support from Welsh Government, via Health and Care Research Wales, and from Cardiff University. Our teams have helped win 40 new studies, completed our first regulatory inspection with no critical findings while keeping patients and the public at the heart of our work. Most importantly this has changed practice in health and social care. As we begin our second decade, we will work with even more partners across Wales and beyond to improve outcomes for patients and the public.
Key figures for 2025/26
During 2025/26, CTR won 40 grants. The Centre led 13 of them, worth £8,496,191, and collaborated on a further 27, worth £36,385,899. Twenty-seven studies are led by Welsh Chief Investigators.
CTR recruited 141,005 participants to its studies. Its staff contributed to 147 publications, ran 12 public engagement events, and offered 59 public involvement opportunities.
First MHRA inspection
In August 2025, CTR had its first inspection by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) since the Centre was formed in 2015. The inspection was a week on site, and preparation began in February.
The inspection report, published in November 2025, identified no critical findings. It gave independent assurance of high standards across trial management, pharmacovigilance, data integrity, quality assurance and documentation. Kelly Gee and the Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs team led the process, with input from teams across the Centre.
For the researchers CTR works with, and for the people who take part in its studies, the result offers important reassurance that the trials they rely on are run to high standards.
Research highlights
The report features studies across CTR's four divisions: Brain Health and Mental Wellbeing; Cancer; Infection, Inflammation and Immunity; and Population Health and Social Care.
In cancer, the QuicDNA study tested whether a blood test (liquid biopsy) for circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) could shorten the time from GP referral to the start of targeted treatment, compared with tissue biopsy. The study recruited 743 participants across Wales ahead of schedule, and its real-world evidence supported the commissioning of the ctDNA test in England and Wales during 2025. In December 2025, the team won the Health and Social Care Industry Collaboration Award at the MediWales Innovation Awards. A £2.52 million investment, announced the same month, will expand the programme beyond lung cancer into ctDNA testing of other cancer types across all Welsh health boards through QuicDNA Max.
In mental health, the OAMHS study is evaluating Wales's new open-access mental health model. Under this model, people can choose the type of support they receive and get help on the same day they ask for it. Wales would be the first country in the world to do this. The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will look at access, equity, outcomes and value.
Other new studies include EVITA, a £2.3 million NIHR trial comparing three intravenous treatments for children with severe acute asthma.
Public involvement and engagement
Public involvement and engagement run through everything CTR does. In February 2026, CTR colleagues took part in the 'Be A Scientist' event at Sbarc, where the Centre's stand welcomed more than 180 visitors. Children and families joined "Geoffrey the Giraffe" as public contributors to a fictional clinical trial, helping to decide how the study should run.
A previous outing for Geoffrey won CTR's Professional Services team the "Best Engagement Stand 2025" award at the Health and Care Research Wales Conference.
Dr Sofia Vougioukalou, Research Fellow at CTR and the Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE), won the 2026 Cardiff University Celebrating Excellence Award for Co-creation and Participative Leadership. The award recognises her decade-long commitment to placing people with lived experience at the centre of research leadership.
Leadership
The year also saw significant changes in the Centre's senior team, reflecting the growth of CTR's portfolio and the success of its leaders in building research partnerships. Professor Mike Robling leads the Centre as Director, with Dr David Gillespie as Deputy Director.
Ten years of CTR
In May 2026, CTR marked the end of its tenth year, celebrating with the many research centres it works with across Cardiff University. The milestone was a chance to reflect on a decade of grants won, projects delivered and impact on policy and practice, and to look ahead to working with a wider range of collaborators.
Read the full report
The Centre for Trials Research Annual Report 2025/26 is available in English and Welsh: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/centre-for-trials-research/about-us
Share this story
Discover how our trials and studies are improving health and care in Wales and beyond. From faster blood tests for lung cancer to better mental health support, see how our teams, partners and public contributors are turning research into real benefits for patients and communities.