You should be seeing some content in this space that is currently blocked due to cookie settings. Open the Cookie Management Tool to change your settings.
Advancing healthcare by bringing meaningful clinical research to our community.
Our vision is to position UCC at the forefront of patient-focused research within Ireland and to enhance its international reputation for research excellence. We aim to promote excellence in the efficient and cost effective design, conduct, analysis and teaching of patient focused research and to mitigate to the fullest extent possible all elements of risk associated with such research.
A comprehensive, multidisciplinary, quality driven, evidence–based Research Democracy involving researchers, the public and industry with the capacity and expertise to be the leading Clinical Trial site in Ireland, and a leading Irish Clinical Research Facility in Europe.
Our Mission
Design, deliver and support inclusive clinical research through collaboration, education and innovation.
Our Values
Trust. Empowerment. Compassion. Excellence.
Trust – We build trust through connection, respect, reliability and accountability. Empowerment – We learn, share and support each other to grow with confidence and purpose. Compassion – We are inclusive and care about people. Excellence – We strive for the highest quality in everything we do.
Governance
Management Board
The HRB CRF-UCC is led by the Director and is overseen by a combined University College Cork (UCC) and Health Services Executive (HSE) Management Board. The board is chaired by the Head of the College of Medicine and Health (CoMH), Prof. Helen Whelton, who is also the Chief Academic Officer for HSE South-West. The board comprises senior leaders from UCC and the HSE.
The CRF-UCC Management Board are advised by an Advisory Committee which is chaired by an external expert.
Advisory Committee
An independent Advisory Committee comprising of relevant national and international experts, provides guidance to the Management Board on the strategic direction and key focus areas of the HRB CRF-UCC. The chair of the Advisory Committee is Prof. Richard Fitzgerald, Director of NIHR Liverpool Clinical Research Facility and Professor of Experimental Pharmacology at the University of Liverpool.
Funding
The HRB CRF-UCC is jointly funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) and UCC.
Oversight
The Quality Management System (QMS) at the HRB CRF-UCC supports the delivery of clinical research ensuring:
The rights, safety and well-being of trial subjects are protected
Quality and safety considerations are embedded throughout the facility
A culture of continuous improvement is promoted
The QMS adheres to the International Conference Harmonisation Good Clinical Practice (ICHGCP) Guidelines and all applicable regulatory requirements. It includes a full suite of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Quality, Clinical, Data Management, Statistics, Pharmacovigilance and all clinical research activities carried out by the HRB CRF-UCC.
The QMS incorporates risk assessment, risk management and mitigation into its key processes.
The Quality team, in addition to supporting the HRB CRF-UCC, have quality oversight of all patient focused research in UCC.
The clinical trials conducted by the CRF-UCC are audited by regulatory authorities e.g. HPRA.
The number of investigators who have collaborated with the CRF-UCC on clinical studies across specialties is ~100.
Regulated Clinical Trials
The number of regulated clinical trials carried out to date by the CRF-UCC is ~104.
Non-regulated Clinical Studies
The number of non-regulated trials the CRF-UCC have carried out to date is ~89.
Participants
Number of participants who have consented to participate in clinical studies conducted by CRF-UCC is ~4518.
The Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility-University College Cork (HRB CRF-UCC) provides the infrastructure and support to design, set up and conduct regulated clinical trials and other patient focused research.
Are you a healthcare practitioner interested in conducting a clinical trial or other patient focused research?
Are you a pharmaceutical or healthcare company interested in opening a clinical trial or other patient focused research in a healthcare setting in the South-West of Ireland?
Are you an academic interested in pursuing clinical trials or other patient focused research?
Are you a small to medium start-up company looking for advice on regulatory pathways to conduct clinical trials or other patient focused research?
If so, the CRF-UCC is here to support you.
We support clinicians, allied health professionals and academics in the design, set-up and conduct of inclusive regulated and non-regulated studies across multiple therapeutic areas.
Patients are provided with access to cutting edge medicines and other therapeutic interventions via clinical trials and patient focused research studies.
Clinicians interested in clinical trials and other patient focused research are provided with visibility of upcoming commercial and academic studies and supported through the study feasibility process.
Academics are supported in developing budgets for statistics, FAIR data, methodology, quality/regulatory/pharmacovigilance and clinical operations, to support grant applications for clinical trials and other patient focused research.
On receipt of funding, we facilitate the study set-up (navigating regulatory submission, insurance/study sponsorship) and the conduct of the trial.
Commercial companies use our infrastructure to enable the opening of international clinical trials and other patient focused research studies in healthcare settings within the south-west of Ireland.
Get in Touch
Do you want to know more about the HRB CRF-UCC? We’d love to hear from you!
