Susan Wagland

As Clinical Trials Manager in Oxford Trauma Group I am responsible for day-to-day management of clinical trials:

• FAME Trial which is recruiting patients;
• UKSTAR Trial which has published results in The Lancet;
• PATH-2 Study which has published results in the BMJ and will soon publish its long-term follow-up;
• AIM Trial, which has been published.

The FAME trial is looking at the best treatment for unstable ankle fractures in adults aged up to 60 years old: surgical treatment or non-surgical treatment with close contact casting. The AIM Trial looked at the same treatments for adults aged over 60.

In UKSTAR we wanted to know whether patients with Achilles tendon ruptures treated non-surgically have a better outcome depending on whether they were immobilised in a plaster cast or an orthopaedic brace (walking boot). 

The PATH-2 study investigated the effect of platelet rich plasma (PRP) as a non-surgical treatment for Achilles tendon ruptures, and found that it offers patients no benefit. 

I have four years’ experience of clinical trial management, and prior to working for the University, I spent 15 years in the IT industry, and specialised in project management, data quality and release management. I have also worked in University administration.

During my scientific training, I worked on breast cancer and gained a PhD from Brunel University London in Biology and Biochemistry Research. I also hold a BSc in Life Sciences from the Open University, an MSc from Brunel in Molecular Medicine with Cancer Research, and a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford.