An exciting new treatment is showing promise for treating a devastating disease, but how do you know if it works in real life? From evaluating emerging technologies to finding out whether innovative approaches to improve newborn survival or increase vaccine uptake are effective, clinical trials can help answer questions like these.

This popular course, which has been running since 1999, offers a fast track to understanding the fundamental principles of randomised clinical trials. These gold standard experiments enable researchers to test potential solutions to health challenges on a large number of people and in different contexts. Evidence from clinical trials has made a huge impact on health and policy worldwide.

Experts actively involved in major global trials will provide key insights into the steps involved in designing, conducting and analysing a clinical trial. Through live lectures and practical sessions, you will gain a basic understanding and practical knowledge to apply the principles of clinical trials to the health issue you are interested in.

Accreditation

The 2026 Essentials of Clinical Trials programme has been approved by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians for 30 CPD credits.

Who should attend?

The course is relevant for anyone interested in understanding the role of clinical trials in the rigorous evaluation of healthcare interventions, including clinical research professionals, research managers, statisticians and other scientists.

Teaching

The course is coordinated by Jennifer Nicholas, Matthew Dodd and Eni Balogun and taught by members of the Department of Medical Statistics and the LSHTM Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) who have extensive experience in the design, conduct and analysis of trials in the variety of clinical specialities ranging from malaria to maternal health and HIV to heart disease.

Course leaflet 2026.