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Clinical trials are the gold standard in medical research, used to test new treatments and medical devices to ensure they are safe and improve patient outcomes.

Each year on May 20, Clinical Trials Day aims to raise awareness about the importance of clinical trials. At Lawson Health Research Institute, our researchers, research staff and learners across London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) are working daily to advance clinical trials for some of the most pressing health challenges.
 
“If you look at many areas of medicine, like cancer and cardiovascular disease, part of why those conditions have had dramatic improvements in outcomes over the last several decades is because of clinical trials,” says Dr. Amit Garg, Scientist at Lawson, Lead for the Kidney, Dialysis & Transplantation Research Program at ICES Western, and a Nephrologist at LHSC. 

Clinical trials can also provide patient participants with new treatment options and can demonstrate when existing treatments have applications for other diseases.

“We could not conduct clinical trials without patients participating in them,” adds Dr. David Palma, Associate Scientist at Lawson and Radiation Oncologist at LHSC. “A clinical trial is a very rigorous process where we carefully define a treatment and follow patients very closely with extra interventions and tests to see not only how the disease is responding to treatment, but also any effects on a patient’s quality of life.”

It also takes a team to make clinical trials a success, including the critical work of research coordinators, associates and assistants, adds Dr. Swati Mehta, Lawson Scientist based at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute.

Dr. Palma also notes that while clinical trials require investment to conduct them, they can ultimately lead to savings in the health system. 

“While the primary goal of a clinical trial is to improve or save lives, they often lead to cost savings down the road. Improving cure rates means people don’t need as much treatment and that can save the initial investment many, many times over,” Palma says. 

Looking ahead, work is ongoing to make clinical trials more efficient and equitable. 

“Eliminating specialized infrastructure would help make trials more equitable, so they are available in smaller communities and at distant sites that otherwise would not have access. Making study materials available in multiple languages and to anyone with accessibility issues can also help,” Garg adds.

“Future clinical trials will need to follow more pragmatic, adaptive study designs that allow us to evaluate therapies or interventions in a more realistic setting,” Dr. Mehta says. “These would also allow us to follow-up with patients that were potentially underrepresented in past research.”

According to researchers at Lawson, the future of clinical trials is bright with hundreds of trials currently underway at LHSC and St. Joseph’s with the goal of improving patient outcomes. 

To mark International Women’s Day, two early career researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute are sharing their experiences as women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). They shared the support they’ve experienced in their careers, the importance of women’s voices in medical research and how to encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM.

Early access and mentorship are key: Dr. Funmbi Babalola

Dr. Babalola is a Paediatric Endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and an Associate Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute. She helped pioneer the start of a Paediatric Rare Bone Disease Clinic at Children’s Hospital in 2022 which provides multi-disciplinary care for patients, so they no longer have to travel outside of London for treatment. As a clinician researcher, her areas of interest are paediatric diabetes and calcium and bone metabolism disorders. She is currently involved in several clinical trials and studies. 

She credits mentorship and the support of educators early in her career journey with encouraging her interest in science and says that is key for being more welcoming to women in STEM.

“In Grade 12 my biology teacher recommended I go to an advanced placement school. That was when I had my first experience with research,” says Dr. Babalola. “When I got to my undergraduate work, I found a woman mentor who was a powerhouse and had a vision, and I was able to publish two papers during that time and had such a positive experience. I went straight to medical school after that and continued to do research. I think I’ve been really lucky with all the people that I’ve worked with and who have encouraged me as I built my research career.”

Dr. Babalola says she is fortunate to be a researcher in a time when women’s voices are finally being heard and welcomed.

“I think my perspective is probably different than women who were starting work 10 or 20 years ago,” she notes. “I think I’m very lucky that I entered the medical research world where a lot of women are at the table. They’re great role models and they really support and help each other.”

But she says support for research in hospitals is also crucial. 

“It takes both good mentors and a culture of research to make it easier to get studies done.”

Dr. Babalola has already started mentoring new researchers, many of them women, who have approached her.

“I’m all about paying it forward. I’ve been super fortunate to have great mentors that are still continuing to mentor me, so I want to pass that knowledge on.”

Women in science are inspirational: Dr. Kait Al

Dr. Kait Al is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, working in a Lawson Health Research Institute lab at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Dr. Al’s research focus is the role of the microbiome in urological conditions like kidney stone disease. She’s currently looking at how a microbiome with beneficial microbes could help protect healthy individuals from forming kidney stones and how optimizing the microbiome could help prevent stone recurrence in stone formers.

She believes women’s voices need to be included in research so that it is more representative of the world we live in and better addresses everyone’s health needs.

“Women bring diverse experiences and perspectives that have been historically excluded from research, along with many other underrepresented groups.”

And mentors among those voices are one of the best ways to encourage more women to get interested in science, she says, so women can see themselves in those positions.

“Seeing someone like yourself as a role model in a successful position that is passionate and curious about science can be so influential to young people,” shares Dr. Al. “As scientists, it’s important to share your work widely.”

She notes that organizations that encourage and support mentorship, as well as a flexible work culture and networking opportunities, are likely to be more welcoming to women in STEM and benefit from having them as part of the team.

“It is crucial to prioritize an inclusive and supportive mentorship environment for trainees and professionals,” says Dr. Al. “I believe work that lets you balance professional and personal commitments, which can otherwise be biased against women, is key.”

The theme for International Women’s Day in 2024 is ‘Inspire Inclusion,’ and that’s exactly what Dr. Al says she sees in other women in science.

“I am constantly inspired by women in science, from my direct colleagues to world leaders I’ve never met. I have witnessed firsthand my colleagues breaking down barriers, succeeding in challenging areas, and lifting each other up, and it really creates a culture of empowerment.”

Local youth use art and storytelling to illustrate the personal and system challenges in mental health.

The words and images are both heartbreaking and hopeful.

“Nobody likes you if you are sad.”

you are enough. stay strong. let life surprise you.

“Please don’t leave like everyone else.”

1 year sober. 1 year of school. 1 year building a safe home. 1 year loving myself.

Zine-writing, a personal and introspective medium often used by people who have been marginalized, is an important part of local research that is finding solutions to complex mental health challenges among young adults. Its name derives from its magazine (“zine”) format.

“When we make the voices of people with lived experience central to our research, we can learn from each other and then change the system together,” says Dr. Arlene MacDougall, founder of MINDS of London-Middlesex.

The social innovation and research lab based at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) is dedicated to designing, piloting and testing mental health innovations for teens and young adults. Its recent evolution into MINDS 2.0 adds insights by and for people up to age 35 who have complex, pervasive mental health and addiction issues.

Learning from experts

Rin, a London artist, who has published independent zines for a decade, created three for this project, including one that, with irony, asks the reader to ponder which vulnerable people aren’t worth saving.

“I believe making art can be very healing,” says Rin. “I wanted to share some of my story to help myself and help others. I want to play a part in shaping a mental health system that’s better than the one I encountered.”

The zines weave art, prose and poetry into story:

3 things I would change: affordability, stigma, waitlists.

“If I had a magic wand, I would use it to heal the waters, grow the trees, foster animal growth.”

Look in the mirror, see how far you’ve come.

They also raise and propose solutions to troubling issues among people with mental illness: housing and homelessness, sparse resources for people with addictions, lack of coordination among service providers, and dehumanizing attitudes in health and criminal justice systems.

“Participants experienced catharsis just in telling their stories,” says Renee Hunt PhD, Associate Director of Research and Operations at MINDS. “And because they’re the experts, they’re also playing an important part in changing systems that need an overhaul.”

Adds Rin, “It feels empowering knowing people are listening to us – people who care and are committed to making change to the system.”

MacDougall notes the pivotal role of St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation – in particular, a groundbreaking $5-million donation towards mental health research from philanthropist Ryan Finch – in advancing mental health innovation through MINDS and MINDS 2.0.

“They’ve been our biggest supporters since day one. This wouldn’t have happened without support from Ryan and the foundation and all the many donors who believe in mental health research,” says MacDougall, who is also Director of Research and Innovation with St. Joseph’s Mental Health Care Program.

“MINDS has been a catalyst for system change,” MacDougall adds. “Research is always about finding answers and generating impact.”

Many findings from MINDS research have been put into practice, among them are the creation of guidebooks for peer support, free taxi service for rural youth needing urban mental health or addiction services, and educational resources to support 2SLGBTQI+ students.

MacDougall says MINDS 2.0 expands that work with new voices and the exploration of more in-depth solutions.
 

What’s next for MINDS 2.0

• Workshopping ideas and prototypes for mental health systems change.  Sessions will be held   where people with lived/living experience and service providers propose and develop potential solutions.
• Leadership-building. Twenty mental health practitioners will be trained to become “agents of change” who will collectively create, implement and evaluate mental health programs, technology, interventions and training.
• Imaginarium conference. In 2025, a first-of-its-kind national conference will take place to share system innovations in mental health and addiction.