Today, we formally welcome Professor Duncan Richards as the new Director to OCTRU, replacing Professor Sarah (Sallie) Lamb who, together with Professor Doug Altman founded the CTU back in 2012.
Professor Richards, an Oxford-trained clinician, joins OCTRU from his previous roles as Head of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Medicine at GSK, and Research Director of GSK’s phase 1 and experimental medicine unit in Cambridge (CUC).
Professor Lamb is moving to a new role at Exeter University, but will continue as Strategic Lead for OCTRU’s Rehabilitation Research group.
Members of the unit are looking forward to the continued evolution of OCTRU under Professor Richards, building on its reputation as a firmly established CTU conducting numerous clinical trials across all phases and areas of medicine. Professor Richards said: ‘In my short time in Oxford I have been tremendously impressed by the breadth and quality of work undertaken by OCTRU and its partners. I would like to pay tribute Sallie and the team for building a robust but flexible organisation that is ready to take on new challenges and opportunities as the clinical trials portfolio continues to evolve.’