Clare Brittain
OCTRU Head of Pre-Trial Operations
I have worked in clinical research for over 15 years within both the academic sector and pharmaceutical industry and am passionate about conducting high-quality trials.
After obtaining my degree in Medical Science (BMedSci) from the University of Birmingham I started my career working for Roche and then later AstraZeneca in a variety of roles within their Pharmacovigilance departments. As part of an outsourcing project at AstraZeneca I undertook a 6-month secondment in Budapest to train and mentor colleagues, primarily on procedures relating to the collection and reporting of safety data from clinical trials and published literature.
After being made redundant from AstraZeneca following the company decision to outsource activities to Hungary, I moved to the Cancer Research Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) at the University of Birmingham. Here, I was responsible for managing the set-up and delivery of paediatric oncology trials. I later joined the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit in 2013, initially as the Trial Manager responsible for setting up the ASAP (Adjuvant Steroids in Adults with Pandemic Influenza) trial, a novel clinical trial, which formed part of the of the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) pandemic influenza preparedness portfolio. I subsequently managed clinical trials in the sexual health therapeutic area before being promoted to Senior Trial Manager.
As a Senior Trial Manager at the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit I was responsible for managing a large trial management team, overseeing the set-up and management of a portfolio of clinical trials. In addition, I was responsible for developing successful grant applications for a number of NIHR funded clinical trials. I have primarily worked on Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) however I also have experience of working on device, surgical and other interventional trials.
I joined OCTRU in September 2021 and am now responsible for driving forward NIHR funded grant applications by utilising all of my previous experience in clinical trial management to undertake high level preparatory work on trials within the OCTRU portfolio.
Recent publications
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Protocol for open-label randomized clinical trial of intensive surveillance versus standard postoperative follow-up in patients undergoing surgical resection for oesophageal and gastric cancer.
Journal article
Markar SR. et al, (2023), Br j surg
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Intravaginal lactic acid gel versus oral metronidazole for treating women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis: the VITA randomised controlled trial.
Journal article
Ross JDC. et al, (2023), Bmc womens health, 23
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The DEVA trial: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of dequalinium chloride versus usual care antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis.
Journal article
Haydock R. et al, (2022), Trials, 23
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Lactic acid gel versus metronidazole for recurrent bacterial vaginosis in women aged 16 years and over: the VITA RCT.
Journal article
Armstrong-Buisseret L. et al, (2022), Health technol assess, 26, 1 - 170
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POSNOC-POsitive Sentinel NOde: adjuvant therapy alone versus adjuvant therapy plus Clearance or axillary radiotherapy: a randomised controlled trial of axillary treatment in women with early-stage breast cancer who have metastases in one or two sentinel nodes.
Journal article
Goyal A. et al, (2021), Bmj open, 11