Bringing clinical research to the local community

For the King’s Clinical Research Facility (CRF), 2025 so far has been dedicated to bringing clinical research to the forefront for our local community.

Over the last six months, the King’s CRF have collaborated with a local school on events aiming to inspire students, as well as researchers’ delivering talks to the public about how vital research is for patients.

King’s CRF open day

In February, the King’s CRF hosted a group of year 10 and year 12 students from Ursuline High School, an all-girls school based in Wimbledon, for an open day.

Students were taken on a tour of the facilities and were shown how researchers would use equipment such as a centrifuge, a device that spins blood to separate its components so they can be analysed.

They were also treated to talks from researchers who investigate areas related to heart and brain diseases as well as learning about potential new mental health treatments for depression such as psychedelics where they learned more about the roles of these therapies.   They also had an opportunity to learn and have hands-on experience in being taught Basic Life Support skills.

Elka Giemza, King’s CRF Manager, said: “Women are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers and so it was important for us to help bridge that gap, inform students about clinical research and introduce them to the research careers that are available.”

King’s CRF ‘Introduction to Clinical Research’ workshop

The following month colleagues from the King’s CRF visited Ursuline High School to deliver an ‘Introduction to Clinical Research’ workshop for 30 students in year 7.

This workshop aimed to familiarise students to the world of clinical research with a short talk and a quiz about famous researchers throughout history.

Students were then divided into groups and given the opportunity to produce their own mini clinical trial which aimed to answer the question, ‘Does eating broccoli make you more intelligent?’. Each group presented their ideas to the rest of the class and answered questions about their trial, helping to develop their presentation skills and confidence.

This workshop was developed in collaboration with our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) members.

Savia, PPI member at the King’s CRF, said: “I suggested the research idea of whether eating broccoli makes you more intelligent, as we wanted a simple research project for the Year 7s that they could relate to.”

You can find out more about PPI at the King’s Clinical Research Facility here.

Evgeny Vvedenskiy, Ursuline School Careers Lead, commented: “The students enjoyed their time with the CRF team – they discovered new information about clinical research, and more importantly, had an opportunity to work on their own research idea and deliver a presentation.

“The skills they learned will be useful in their futures, and some of them may even go on to pursue a career in clinical research.

“It’s been such an inspiring workshop, and I hope that more students all over the country have a chance to take part in it”.

Pint of Science Festival

As part of our International Clinical Trials Day celebrations last month, researchers from King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London delivered talks at one of the Pint of Science events in south London.  

Pint of Science is an annual science festival which brings researchers to a local space to share their scientific discoveries with the public.

Dr Mubasher Qamar (Neurosciences researcher) and Dr Jennifer Vidler (Haematology researcher) shared some of the methods used in clinical trials today, including how clinical trials are developed, what makes a trial successful and how patients play a crucial role in helping us move science forward. 

Mubasher said: “It was an absolute privilege to speak at Pint of Science on Clinical Trials Day. Bringing research to the public—where it truly belongs—helps build trust, transparency, and shared ownership of science. These conversations are just as vital as the research itself.

“The attendees were engaged and interested in our amazing work at Kings and reaffirmed why I love research. I hope we get more opportunities like this to engage with the community.”