Accelerating Randomized Trials (ART) Platform, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University

In 2021, Dr. Amit Garg was appointed as Associate Dean, Clinical Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry with the goal of accelerating the design and conduct of clinical trials. Dr. Garg has worked with local partners including the medical school, local hospitals, and research institute to develop the Accelerating Randomized Trials (ART) platform, which supports faculty in their trial aspirations and improves capacity to conduct different types of clinical trials (e.g., first-in-human trials and pragmatic trials). The ART platform is divided into three streams that offer different services and training opportunities to researchers. The Pragmatic Trials Stream, designed to support researchers as they plan and execute large-scale pragmatic trials, has four trial coordinators, two research assistants, a manager, two biostatisticians, two methodologists, and assistants focused on all trial phases. It is supporting six large trials with a total of 80,000 patients. One of the trials, Dial-Mag, is being conducted in 150 hemodialysis centres across four provinces. Over the next decade, this stream aims to on-board more than 20 large-scale trials, streamlining the process of registry-based trials in partnership with national organizations such as Health Data Research Network Canada.

The Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium is generously supported through multi-year funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Clinical Trials Fund, as part of Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy to ensure that Canadians are well served by a national clinical trials network.