The Clinical Trial Support Unit will be celebrating 25 years with a silver jubilee bash at the University Club later this month. From left, Adeola Adesokan, Valeryia Rzheuskaya, Anita Mack, Scott Corley, Stephanie Nemirov, Sharleen Maley, Lilian Urroz, Simona Meier. Photo by Kristen McEwen

Clinical Trial Support Unit celebrates 25 years with silver jubilee bash

For the past 25 years, the Clinical Trial Support Unit (CTSU) has served the research community in Saskatchewan as the go-to resource that helps clinical research projects get off the ground and run smoothly.

By Kristen McEwen

The CTSU welcomes the university community to celebrate with them at their Silver Jubilee wine and cheese event at the University Club Fireplace Room on May 29.

“Through the hard work and dedication of CTSU staff, leadership and university administration, the CTSU has continued to carry out its mission of enabling high-quality clinical research in Saskatchewan,” said CTSU director Scott Corley. “Every clinical trial that takes place helps to increase the quality of care provided to patients in Saskatchewan.”

The CTSU, a joint-initiative of the College of Medicine, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, has gone by different names over the years. When it was established in 1993, it was the Saskatchewan Drug Research Institute (SDRI). In 2011, it became the Saskatoon Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR) before the name changed again in 2015 to the CTSU.

CTSU is also presenting two workshops on conducting clinical research from May 29-30. The workshops are designed to take researchers through all of the required steps to start clinical research projects and to continue running them smoothly.  

Following the all-day workshop is a special session on “Research Disaster Clean-Up and Recovery” from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a wine and cheese networking event at the University Club.

Thanks to a grant from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation and sponsorship from the CTSU, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and Dr. Michael Kelly, all events are free to attend. Please register by May 22 as spaces are limited. For more information, call 306-978-8300 or visit CTSU's website.

“It’s exciting for us to have been doing what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years,” Corley said. “We still have our core mission — to make clinical research in Saskatchewan successful.”