Meet our CRP Community

Introducing Fiona

"I am a registered CRP at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn. I have been working as a CRP for the past two years and have been an advocate for a year. I have created the CRP Support Group on Facebook which is used to keep members informed about any opportunities or updates as well as being as a space where CRPs can find support from others. 

I have enjoyed being a part of the development of the CRP role and I am looking forward to being even more involved as an engagement lead. Thank you to the CRP engagement leads and advocates for the support and hard work over the past year, it has been exciting to see the progress we have made already."

You can find out more about Fiona in our CRP Advocate's section below. If you would like to join our network of CRP advocates or have any questions please email Lindsay at lindsay.piper1@nhs.net or Fiona at fiona.richardson@qehkl.nhs.uk.

I have been in the NHS for almost 13 years now, eight of those in research within the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Research Unit, working with pulmonary hypertension patients. My career started as a band 2 healthcare assistant at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital where I undertook a foundation degree in healthcare science as part of a development plan. This allowed me to then progress to become a band 4 assistant practitioner on an orthopaedic ward. In 2013, I made the move to Papworth as a physiotherapy assistant practitioner, where I really enjoyed helping patients with their rehabilitation- to get better and be able to get back home. 

After a few years I then made the transition to research as a band 5 research assistant in the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Research Unit, working with pulmonary hypertension patients. I was then appointed to a band 6 senior clinical trial coordinator role and have been the band 7 team lead for this team for two years now.

Why Research?

It was while first working in physiotherapy at Papworth that I saw some of the various clinical trials being conducted, such as AMAZE (for atrial fibrillation) and Ministern (for aortic valve replacement surgery). They really caught my attention. Seeing how trials excite patients, the way they would talk to me about the trials they were on, and some of the patients on Ministern would even show me their smaller, mini-sternotomy. Their reaction and engagement with the trials and the empowerment they felt by taking part in something that may lead to a benefit for others in the future really enthused me.

I saw the research assistant post come up, went to speak to the team about what it involved and looked into the role a bit more then applied and thankfully got the job.

Why I love Research

The part of my job I love the most is working so closely with our pulmonary hypertension patients and their families or carers. Getting to know them and their individual experience of a very rare disease has definitely had an impact on me as you see their daily struggles and how it really impacts on their lives. 

Research and clinical trials are essential; they offer the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of current and future patients. This is what motivates me to want to work in clinical trials as ultimately you are working to better improve the understanding and the outcomes for our patients.

Career highlight

I work with some amazing investigators, institutions and on many studies but the one that stands out is a commercial study that I set up and ran and managed along with another CRP colleague which was called TRACE. This was a trial looking at the effect of a drug called Selexipag on the physical activity of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.  The results of the study saw the drug become licenced in the UK for some patients which was amazing and this was one of the first trials I worked on solely from start to finish - I can only hope for many more like this in my career.

I work as a Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) in the Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. My portfolio of studies contains mainly commercial trials for stomach and oesophageal cancers, aiming to find new and improved treatments for some of the cancers with the poorest prognosis.

In my role, I identify patients for clinical trials, liaising with the rest of the clinical team to ensure research opportunities are offered to as many patients as possible. Once patients are on trial, I arrange assessments and treatment for them, ensuring we are working to the study protocol.

I have always worked in research in the NHS since completing my undergraduate Biomedical Science degree and research Masters. Some of my previous roles included working as a Tissue Bank Practitioner and I also worked as a laboratory Research Assistant, along with patient-facing roles as a CRP. What I love most about working as a CRP is that I get to combine my passion for science and research with the opportunity to work alongside the patients the studies aim to benefit. Having a patient-facing research role really helps to understand why we do the research we do, and no two days are the same!

My hope for the future is that the research I am involved in will allow patients to live longer, and also have a better quality of life. My work would not be possible without all the patients that participate in the trials, so I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to those who participate, meaning we can work towards new and better treatments for cancer.

My Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP) journey started back in 2015, after completing my undergraduate degree in Human Biology. After graduating, I went straight into a research assistant role in the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at Cambridge University. I later joined the NHS in 2017 working in the Cardiovascular Research team at Royal Papworth Hospital, where I have progressed from a Band 5 Clinical Trial Coordinator to my current position as a Band 6 Senior Clinical Trial Coordinator.

My portfolio of studies includes electrophysiology, interventional, and structural cardiology research. These include both commercial and non-commercial trials, which have consisted of observational studies, randomised control trials, Clinical Trials of Medicinal Products (CTIMP) and Clinical Investigations of Medical Devices (CIMD). In my role, I use a variety of expertise and skills to implement and deliver studies efficiently, accurately, ethically, and safely. I see studies through their journey from feasibility assessments to patient recruitment and data collection, all the way to archiving of studies; this means that every day is different making the role varied and fulfilling!

When I first started my career in clinical research, the role of a CRP was not very well defined and misunderstood by many. As the workforce has grown, the role has become widely recognised as a skilled and essential part of the research delivery workforce. One significant milestone has been the opening of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) CRP register, which sets the standards of proficiency and scopes of practice for CRPs giving assurances to both employers and patients. I want to help inspire and support other CRPs with their professional development, and to raise awareness of the role and the expertise it brings to research delivery.

My name is Tara and I am a Clinical Trial Practitioner at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. I have been working in the NHS since 1991 - I received my 30-year service badge a couple of years ago!

I have been working in research since 1999 firstly at the Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Department at St Thomas’ Hospital, completing audit data for the Twin Research Visits and CRFs for rheumatology studies. I moved to Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in 2005 as a Data Manager completing CRFs for GI Oncology studies.

Since then, I have had a few posts: Research Officer in the Lung Cancer Team, Senior Clinical Trials Coordinator in the Lung and Breast Cancer Team, in 2017 I moved to my current team as Senior Research Practitioner. This involved more patient contact as well as recruiting to non-CTIMP studies. This would prove to be a role I really enjoyed, there was much more time with patients.

I had a brief secondment as an R&D Coordinator but when a band 6 Clinical Trial Practitioner role became available in my old team I applied to come back and work with patients again. I have been well supported by my manager, who is very interested in quality-of-life issues for cancer patients in conjunction with the EORTC QoL Group. I have been a member of the group since 2018 and my manager has supported me to become PI on some of the EORTC QoL studies.

I love working with our oncology patients, and as part of the interviews that I conduct with them I get to hear their experiences, which is always a privilege and I use this information to signpost them to the services they need.

I am currently listed on the CRP Directory but am in the process of applying to the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) CRP for accreditation. It is an exciting time for our profession as we now have the opportunity to bring together the vast variety of roles we represent. When I reflect on all the different treatments that have been offered over the years and how a patient’s journey and expectations have improved, I am proud to have played a very small part in that.

Over 20 years ago, I started as an administrator in the Radiotherapy Department. I soon became very interested with what the Radiographers were doing as part of their role, and went on to become an Assistant Practitioner within the Radiotherapy team.

In this role, I became aware that patients were taking part in different radiotherapy research studies. In addition, I experienced seeing research studies being implemented into the clinical setting. When looking to further my career my first thought was Clinical research and I have gone on to become a Clinical Research Practitioner (CRP).

There have been many advances in technology and treatment options such as Immunotherapy, AI, treatment techniques, to name just a few. Therefore, new studies have opened or are opening to look at these new advances, I find this very exciting to be part of as hope that these could make a difference to those affected by cancer.

I work on a variety of CRN adopted studies, and they are all very different. Being part of research is very rewarding and there is always new things to learn.

Read more on Katy's story.

I have worked in NHS research for eleven years. My first research role was in the Cross-Specialty research team at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, following the completion of my BSc in Biochemistry. In this role I delivered research in specialties such as Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Urgent Care, in addition to acting as a Research Coordinator for a home-grown multi-centre NIHR portfolio study. Since then, I have worked my way up to the role of Clinical Research Practitioner and now work at Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust in the Windsor Research Unit.

The studies run by our team span sit under the specialties of Physical and Mental Health, Dementia, Paediatrics and Rare conditions. We run a range of study types including observational, interventional, and drug trials. Over the past eight years, my current role has involved growing a research portfolio within NHS Community physical health services. Currently my portfolio consists of studies in paediatrics, rare conditions, learning disability and respiratory conditions.

I feel proud to work in the NHS and to be part of the NIHR. I enjoy working in clinical research because I feel it is a role in which I can make a difference – I am a small but critical cog in the system working towards the improvement of clinical care.

My current role since January 2023, as lead generic research practitioner, is a joint role with Stephanie Bell, lead generic research nurse. Together we lead a team of 13 (full-time and part-time) research staff as well as being leads for our own individual research studies.

The generic research team comprises of research nurses, research midwives, a data co-ordinator, and a clinical trials assistant. As team leader my role is to promote a positive team culture and demonstrate professional and managerial leadership acting as a resource and providing guidance.

Part of the role is reviewing the team's capacity to take on new research studies and planning how these will be implemented to maximise participant access to the research study and recruitment.

By working alongside wider clinical teams and individual wards as a team we aim to ensure we're offering as many patients as possible the opportunity to take part in research. We plan to increase diversity within research and reduce inequalities in access to opportunities to participate.

We would like to reduce barriers for people who wish to participate but would struggle to due to personal reasons. By encouraging a research-positive culture in the Trust it means we give our patients wider access to clinical research with the aim of improving patient care and treatment options.

I am currently working on the Harmonie study, the MND Register, the Genomicc study, and the Proteus study, amoung others.