Clinical trials are used by researchers and clinicians to test out new treatments and methods, to check whether they are safe and to compare them to current treatments. Trials require patients willing to take part, but these selfless individuals are often forgotten about and rarely receive recognition for the important part they play in bringing safe, effective and improved medications and treatments onto the market. But it’s not just researchers and patients who make these trials possible – there is a whole team of people working tirelessly behind the scenes, and this article aims to shed some light on one group of them.
The Statistician
The statistician’s job is to take the ideas of the researchers or doctors involved in the trial and turn them into suitable research questions. They identify the specifics and create concrete research aims out of them.
The Royal Statistical Society outlines some of the different areas medical statisticians can work in https://www.statslife.org.uk/careers/types-of-job/1125-medical-statistician, and highlights the importance of the job. Working in clinical trials through all stages, including adaptive phase 1 studies, statisticians are vital in the fight against cancer, and the advances science has made in recent years against the disease wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Reputable and experienced research firms such as http://www.richmondpharmacology.com/adaptive-phase-i-studies.php work tirelessly to conduct safe and effective clinical trials, and there are entire teams of dedicated professionals involved.
Examples of the Statistician’s Role in Clinical Trials
One of the most important things a statistician does in a trial is helping to select the patients required to take part. The statistician needs to think about what type of cancer the patients should have, and how advanced it is. Factors such as gender, age and previous health conditions might also have an impact on whether an individual is chosen to take part in a trial or not. The exact group of people invited to participate in a trial is extremely important, as the trial results are only able to be applied to other people who fall into the same group as the trial group.
While the job itself is varied and interesting, the biggest draw for most statisticians working in this field is that every day they are making a real difference to the quality of life and life expectancy of countless people.
