Today is International Clinical Trials Day, which “recognizes the invaluable contributions of clinical research professionals who drive innovation, uphold patient safety and push the boundaries of discovery,” according to the Society of Clinical Research Associates. The date, May 20, commemorates the day that James Lind began the first randomized clinical trial in 1747. In the years since, clinical research has become the foundation of improving how we understand, prevent and treat disease.
At the University of Kentucky, clinical trials are essential to providing the most advanced care to our patients and communities. According to the Clinical Research Support Office, which provides a range of assistance for clinical trials, UK ran more than 1,000 clinical trials in 2024, bringing nearly $31 million to the enterprise. A bulk of the current trials at UK — 94% — include principal investigators from the College of Medicine. It has hosted 1,255 clinical trials since January 2020; more than 700 are currently active, and 309 are still accepting new participants.
In recent years, clinical trials at the University of Kentucky have contributed to:
- a potential new therapy for Parkinson’s disease,
- the first FDA-approved drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease,
- the discovery of, and the first NIH-funded clinical trial for, a form of dementia called LATE
- therapeutic vaccines for pancreatic and lung cancer,
- UK patients’ access to cutting-edge treatment for brain cancer,
- a coffee-based approach for ovarian cancer, and
- the development of COVID vaccines.
Clinical trials are complex and require a huge range of expertise, from regulatory and financial to clinical care, biostatistics, facilities maintenance and much more. At UK, trials are facilitated by thousands of clinicians, researchers and staff across 51 departments and units, including the Colleges of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Dentistry, Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Food and Environment, and Education.
Importantly, clinical trials are only possible thanks to participants who volunteer. Since January 2020, 32,923 participants have enrolled in clinical trials at UK, including affiliate sites. These participants represent 113 of Kentucky’s 120 counties and 38 states.
UK has a unique distinction as one of only 34 institutions in the country with a trifecta of research designations for excellence in cancer (Markey Cancer Center), aging (Sanders-Brown Center on Aging) and translational science (Center for Clinical and Translational Science, or CCTS), all funded by the National Institutes of Health. CCTS is a disease-agnostic center that provides services and resources, including inpatient and outpatient research clinics available for all UK researchers, to accelerate discoveries that improve health.
“Clinical trials are at the heart of medical advancement and innovation. They embody UK’s unwavering commitment to improve health outcomes for all Kentuckians. Through resources like the CCTS, Office of Research Integrity and the Clinical Research Support Office, we provide vital supports for our researchers, empowering them to help Kentucky and work with researchers across our nation to address critical health challenges,” said Acting Vice President for Research Ilhem Messaoudi, PhD.
Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD, is a professor of neurology in the College of Medicine and has led trials at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA) for two decades. He’s seen the vast evolution of UK’s clinical trial portfolio.
“In 2005, there were no clinical trials in aging and dementia happening at UK,” Jicha said. “The dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice president for health affairs at that time approached me with the goal of building aging and dementia trials at UK. Over the last 20 years, we have moved UK to a leading position nationally and internationally in clinical trial work.”
Jicha is particularly proud of UK’s ability to competitively outperform other leading academic centers nationally.
“Our leadership roles in the major NIH Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC), and our ability to translate basic science discovery into active clinical trials benefit our patients and allow treatment opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else in the world,” said Jicha.
Without clinical trials at SBCoA, he said, UK would be unable to bring new therapies to the more than 80,000 Kentuckians who can benefit from them.
Jessica Heskel, executive director of UK’s Clinical Research Support Office, said UK is uniquely positioned to conduct clinical trials due to the range and expertise of our clinicians and scientists as well as our combination of urban and rural populations, including several of the nation’s poorest counties which experience distinct health challenges.
Conducting clinical trials, she said, is integral to UK’s mission as a teaching institution and its mission to improve Kentucky’s health and well-being.
“We can’t do that if we’re not on the cutting edge of science and research,” Heskel said.
Anyone interested in starting a clinical trial at UK, can contact Jessica Heskel at jessica.heskel@uky.edu.
Want to learn more about participating in health research? There’s an opportunity for everyone, whether healthy or not, ranging from simple online surveys to trials of new medicines. Visit UKClinicalResearch.com to learn more.