The Queensland Clinical Trials Centre (QCTC) was established in late 2001. The unit is located at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, and is a joint project of the hospital and the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland. Its aim is to improve the use of clinical trials in providing high-quality evidence for problems identified by researchers. Randomised controlled trials in several disease areas have now been established, along with infrastructure in study coordination, data management and biostatistical design and analysis.
A significant activity of the QCTC is to provide biostatistical and data management consulting advice to clinical researchers and research students developing their own clinical trial protocols, thus improving the quality of research undertaken. It is important to ensure that studies do not suffer from substantial design errors or are susceptible to serious bias in event recording.
The Centre is part of a collaboration in cardiac and metabolic disorders which holds an NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence grant, and the Princess Alexandra Hospital Cancer Collaborative Group which recently received a $2M infrastructure development grant from the Queensland Cancer Fund. Clinical trials arising from the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence grant are mainly concerned with the effects of lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise on cardiac disease measures in patients with diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic disorders. The Princess Alexandra Hospital Cancer Collaborative Group trials are investigator-initiated studies of treatment for several cancer types, including bladder, oesophageal, breast and colorectal.
The QCTC has been instrumental in developing data management and database standards for these groups, and in unifying data collections across several departments.
The QCTC assists with advice to investigators and/or the Committee on the research design of proposed studies. The HREC refers investigators to contact Elaine Beller where the Committee have concerns.
The Director of Biostatistics can be contacted by email E.Beller@sph.uq.edu.au
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© The State of Queensland (Queensland Health) 2008.