Improving Trust in Clinical Trials

Dr. O'Connell is Professor of Evidence-Based Healthcare in the Physiotherapy Division of the Department of Health Sciences at Brunel University. Neil's research interests focus on the evidence-based management of persistent pain and he has published extensively in this area. He also leads and teaches modules on clinical research methods and evidence-based practice for pre- and post-graduate clinicians. Neil was the Co-ordinating editor for the Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care (PaPaS) group from 2020-23 and is a member of Cochrane's central editorial board. He was a member of the Guideline Development Group for the UK's National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2016 clinical guideline on the management of low back pain and sciatica. Neil is the current Chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Methods, Evidence Synthesis and Implementation Special Interest Group (MESIGIG). Neil is the Scientific Co-ordinator ENhancing TRUST in Pain Evidence (ENTRUST-PE) network supported by the ERA-NET Neuron Cofund. See https://entrust-pe.org/ .

As Senior Lecturer in Clinical Trial Statistics at Manchester University, Dr. Wilkinson's research relates to evaluation of health interventions and methodology for this purpose. He has a particular interest in reproductive medicine, and an international portfolio of clinical trials in this field. Jack has expertise in methods for assessing the authenticity of health research, including the detection of research fraud.  He is currently leading the NIHR-funded INSPECT-SR (INveStigating ProblEmatic Clinical Trials in Systematic Reviews) project, which is an international collaborative effort to develop a tool for assessing the authenticity of randomised controlled trials. 

Amandine is a clinician and PhD student at Queen Mary University of London. Her research focuses on the relationship between physical activity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in girls and women. She recently was the first author of a systematic review investigating how trustworthy osteopathic clinical trials have been over the past 2.5 years. Amandine is particularly interested in how physical activity can promote better health, with a strong focus on addressing gender gaps in research studies.

Dr. Hohenschurz-Schmidt is a clinician, educator, and pain researcher, currently an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Fellow at the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit, Imperial College London. His work focuses on improving clinical trial methods and developing physical and psychological interventions for people living with pain, particularly in the context of long-term conditions like diabetes. He serves on several research and funding committees, including the Society for Back Pain Research and on the Editorial Board of BMC Medical Research Methodology.

Dr. Draper-Rodi is the Director of the National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR), Associate Professor at UCO School of Osteopathy (Health Sciences University), and co-director of the Centre for Osteopathic Research and Leadership at HSU. As institutional lead for HSU within the UK Reproducibility Network and Chair of the Osteopathy Europe Research Standing Committee, his scholarly work centres on knowledge mobilisation, notably establishing the first osteopathic practice-based research network in the UK. His research streams also encompass Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within healthcare education and practice.

Dr. Tovey is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and former Editor-in-Chief of the Cochrane library. Since 2021, David has served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, a role he shares with Associate Professor Andrea C. Tricco. He also holds several editorial and scientific advisory roles, including Chair of the Campbell Technical Advisory Group and member of the Medical Strategy Advisory Board for Dr Evidence LLC. David was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Cochrane Library from 2009, overseeing the quality of Cochrane Reviews and the work of 52 Review Groups. With his team and expert methodologists, he established the Methodological Expectations for the Conduct and Reporting of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR). He also led initiatives with Cochrane’s publisher to enhance the Library’s content, presentation, and visibility. In 2019, he stepped down and was appointed Emeritus Editor-in-Chief. Before 2009, David worked in the BMJ’s Knowledge department in London, responsible for its evidence products Clinical Evidence and BestTreatments. He joined the BMJ in 2003 as Deputy Editor of Clinical Evidence, later becoming its Editor, and ultimately Editorial Director. From 1989 to 2003, David was a GP and senior partner in a large, diverse urban practice in South London.

Dr. Uttley a meta-research methodologist and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield with a fellowship examining the research integrity of systematic reviews, funded by the UKRI MRC. Her educational background is psychology which has cultivated an interest in examining how people influence research outputs. As well as leading Systematic Reviewlution, Lesley provides methodological input and advice on inclusive research on the ESRC funded Behavioural Research UK project (2023-2027) and the NIHR funded Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre (2024-2026). Lesley is a current Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, having previously been Guest Editor for the journal’s Special Issue "Methodological Aspects of Research Integrity and Research Culture.”

Dr. Soliman is a Research Fellow at the EPPI Centre, University College London. Her background is in pharmacology and her PhD focused on improving the feasibility, efficiency and accuracy of systematic reviews while asking questions of neurobiological importance. She is now working on DESTINY - a Wellcome funded consortium - developing digital evidence synthesis tools for the responsible use of AI and automation for evidence synthesis and policy making in climate and health. A proponent of open research practices, her research has provided empirical evidence that highlights the impact of the lack of open and transparent reporting, and she is committed to improving the integrity and trustworthiness of pain research. She is a UK Reproducibility Local Network Lead and serves on the Journal of Pain as an Openness and Transparency Editor. She also has an interest in sharing her military experiences and knowledge of leadership development to engender a more positive research culture.