Lead Research Nurse Rachel Wane is dedicated to helping children and families take part in key research studies.
Rachel has led Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ four-strong children’s clinical research team for the past four years, and loves the variety of the role.
“It’s my job to lead a team of children’s research nurses and a clinical trial officer to improve opportunities for children and families to be involved in children’s research, which can be as an inpatient, outpatient or healthy volunteer,” said Rachel.
“COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of clinical research, and I enjoy giving children and families the opportunity to take part in vital studies which often go on to make a huge difference to people’s lives.”
Trials
The team is currently taking part in 15 studies, including trials looking at COVID-19, asthma, rheumatology disease, several neonatal studies and neonatal service delivery for babies born before 37 weeks gestation.
Bradford has also played a key role in recruiting 137 children and young people to Oxford University’s ‘What’s the Story’ study, which is researching a new way of surveying how well protected we are from infectious diseases by collecting blood samples from people who represent different groups across society, with a focus on Group C meningococcus (MenC), diphtheria and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Although the team support a wide range of studies, Rachel said they also try and tailor some of their research to conditions which are more prevalent in children and young people throughout the district.
“If people are interested in taking part in research into a particular condition, I’d advise them to visit the City of Research website, which allows you to put down your own conditions with a view to taking part in related research.”
Although the team’s work has been hugely successful, Rachel admitted that finding the right children and young people for the right study can sometimes be challenging.
