Episode 44 - Research in the News

In this episode, we’re back in Elyse’s corner (hooray!), and today, we’re talking about a topic we all probably had some exposure to during Covid but might not remember a lot about it - PPE, or Personal Protective Equipment Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ References https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10001160/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11223943/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8662528/  https://aging.networkofcare.org/riverside/CommunityResources/ClinicalTrials/Detail/NCT05369663?keyword=%22Speech%22  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9190185/  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9845060/  https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-024-02370-5  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8111204/  

Alright so we’ve talked about contract research organisations and vendors and suppliers lots, but it’s time to put on our legal hats and discuss contracting! Why is it needed, why is it so widespread, which kinds of things can be contracted and what does GCP have to say about it. If this is what you want to know - you’re in the right place! Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ References - ICH_E6(R3)_Step4_FinalGuideline_2025_0106.pdf

It’s time for us to update you on current events, medical research or drugs in the news! We’ve got a couple of stories from Debbie and an update on our favourite shiny rock from Elyse.  Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ References -  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy48jynpm8wo https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08771-z  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/09/male-bias-medical-trials-women-lives-data-gap  Maya Dusenbery - Doing Harm (Book) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsb2506929 (FDA article) https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-fda-kennedy-covid-shots-rfk-trump-bb4de15b6ff955d6cd0b406aaec3cdc5  https://www.sciencealert.com/expert-explains-fdas-new-covid-vaccine-rules-in-the-us 

You may have heard us talk about GCP before, the international standard for the conduct of clinical studies globally. But, there’s a new version on the block! This episode is all about why the changes were needed and how they look in practice.  Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ References - https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/scientific-guideline/ich-e6-r3-guideline-good-clinical-practice-gcp-step-5_en.pdf   

Episode 42 In this episode, the unexpected third part in our “Historical Stuff” series, Debbie is going to tell Elyse about some tragedies in clinical trials, what occurred, what we learned and the consequences of them.   So, heads up, definitely a content warning for this episode, it will include medical outcomes, death (including deaths of children), fetal development, torture, unethical conduct, medical racism (racism in general) - just a whole mixed bag of really terrible stuff. If that doesn’t sound like something you want to listen to, feel free to give this one a miss.  Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ Resources/ references -  Japan & Atomic Bomb experiments - https://web.archive.org/web/20130210011533/http://docs8.chomikuj.pl/2097817100,PL,0,0,Hiroshima---Atomic-Victims-as-Human-Guinea-Pigs-(criminal-Japan%E2%80%99s-National-Institute-of-Health-(JNIH)-Prof.-Shingo-Shibata-1996).pdf  Nigeria & Pfizer - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1119465/  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/06/AR2006050601338.html  Puerto Rico & Contraceptive Pill - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-puerto-rico-pill-trials/  Retinoids podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-156-retinoids-part-1-how-it-started/id1299915173?i=1000675737651  Research misconduct (actual and alleged) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK475955/  Stolen: Surviving St Michael’s https://open.spotify.com/episode/2BllRP1ZQRKq2lxfpLUhzA 

Pharmacovigilance is a big work that we’re going to break down in this episode, to look at the data around safety events, or patient experienced side effects in clinical trials and after a drug is on the market. Where does the data come from, and what is done with it. We are going to dive into the WHO definition of pharmacovigilance, and look out for a special appearance from our favourite shiny rock! Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/

Episode 40 In this episode, we’re back in Elyse’s corner (hooray!), and today, we’re talking about a hot topic in the US: Bird flu. AKA why my eggs so spensy? Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ Resources/ references -  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21505594.2024.2343931?src=recsys https://respiratory-therapy.com/products-treatment/pharmaceuticals/clinical-trials/fda-oks-phase-1-trial-mrna-vaccine-h5n1-avian-flu/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/14760584.2013.811178 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9027673/ https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/traws-trials-h5n1-drug/?cf-view&cf-closed https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/avian-influenza https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9191 https://www.wattagnet.com/poultry-meat/diseases-health/avian-influenza/article/15707933/avian-flu-confirmed-on-poultry-farms-in-13-european-countries  https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2025/m0106-h5-birdflu-death.html 

Today, we’re talking about the type of clinical staff that are often involved in Clinical Research - including Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists and quite a few more! We’re going to consider what their work as part of research looks like, how it may differ from their usual clinical work and what the benefit is for them. Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/

It is finally time for our long awaited second Q&A episode! We throw questions at each other, though honestly Debbie does answer most of them. Huge thanks to everyone who submitted a question - don’t hesitate to send any more you may have to our email address!  Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/ Resources: Revolutionizing healthcare: the role of artificial intelligence in clinical practice -https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-023-04698-z Dosing by weight and the morning after pill - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4500687/  https://accpjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1875-9114.2012.01108.x#:~:text=Dosing%20based%20on%20body%20weight,not%20increase%20with%20body%20size.

In this episode, we’re looking at another fundamental topic central to the conduct of clinical research, which is the Inclusion and Exclusion criteria that are used to determine if a patient is allowed to participate in a clinical trial (after they’ve consented, of course!) What kind of things are used to include or exclude patients, and why might there be a LOT of them? Remember, you can get in touch with us via [email protected]. Please feel free to send questions, comments and compliments for Elyse to read out on the pod. It’s fun to make Debbie squirm! Credit to our friend Sam Winnie for their awesome and cute music. Check out their work at https://www.samwinnie.com/