Research and innovation
Our research team offers a dynamic, patient-centred portfolio of studies in the latest treatments and therapies.
Contact us
If you are a researcher, industry or other external organisation and need to speak to someone about working with us, please contact us via:
Phone 01227 783169
Clinical Trails Unit
Phone 01227 206791
If you are a patient or member of the public and wish to know more about our research studies and how you can help, visit our main Research and Innovation page.
What we do
Medical (or healthcare) research aim to increase knowledge about the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illness.
Our research team offers a dynamic, patient-centred portfolio of studies in the latest treatments and therapies.
Our Trust is a is a programme partner for the Kent, Medway and Sussex Secure Data Environment (KMS SDE) for research.
Our areas of research
We are actively involved a range of research activities.
The areas in which we lead projects nationally or internationally constantly evolve, but areas where we have a particularly strong reputation include:
kidney disease
rare bleeding disorders, including haemophilia
engineering and assistive technologies
neuro-rehabilitation
health informatics and modelling
orthodontics
gynaecological cancer.
We are always seeking to develop new areas of research.
Visit the Be Part of Research website to find out which research studies are currently running in east Kent.
Who we work with
We are passionate about providing world-class research. Our strength is the dedication of our researchers and supporting staff, and the excellent working environments within our research teams.
At a strategic level, we work closely with our two local universities:
We are also part of the Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey & Sussex (ARC-KSS), which is one of 15 ARCs across England, part of a £135 million investment by the NIHR to improve the health and care of patients and the public.
Our academic collaborations are not limited to east Kent. Currently our staff collaborate with colleagues in North America, Australasia, various European countries, countries in the Indian Subcontinent, and many organisations across the UK including University College London, Goldsmiths College.
Our facilities
East Kent Hospitals operates over five sites. Our three main sites are:
William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
Kent & Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury
We provide a full suite of facilities to support research delivery on all three main sites, including:
dedicated research delivery teams
inpatient and day case beds, including Level 2 and Level 3 care (Intensive Therapy Units)
extensive outpatient facilities
operating theatres
all diagnostic imaging modalities, including plain X-ray, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, CT and MR scanning across the three main sites
state-of-the-art interventional radiology suite
endoscopy
full pharmacy facilities
full pathology facilities
cardiac and respiratory investigation units, including echocardiography.
Clinical Trials Unit
Our Clinical Trials Unit provides high quality support in running clinical trials in line with international regulatory standards – from the planning stages right through to analysis and reporting.
Support is offered for:
trial design and protocol development
trial management
statistical advice and analysis
economic evaluation
data management (including randomisation and database development),
advice on funding sources and the preparation of grant applications.
Where an application is successful, the unit will support the implementation of trials including ethics, research governance and MHRA submissions, together with site set-up and monitoring, participant recruitment and dissemination.
The unit is currently supporting research in a range of areas, including General Surgery, Physiotherapy, Haemophilia and COVID 19.
If you want to work with our clinical trials unit, or have any questions about our services, please get in touch.
Further information
Advice, training and resources for internal staff/researchers
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @EKHUFT_Research
Follow our Clinical Trials unit on X (formerly Twitter) @CTU_EK