Red lights illuminated Edinburgh Castle on Thursday evening to mark the start of the Red4Research Day celebrations.
The event is organised by the R&D Forum to shine a light on the contribution of clinical research and all those that work participating, supporting, and undertaking research, on the front line and behind the scenes.
#Red4Research Day aims to get as many people as possible wearing red to demonstrate their support and appreciation for all those participating, undertaking and supporting research.
It is an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the phenomenal work, learning legacy and innovative treatments/systems/techniques that have arisen from Research and Development.
Patient Aerin Thompson attended the event in recognition of the difference research has made to her life.
She said: “I was only 16 when I was diagnosed with pan-ulcerative colitis a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which was making me feel constantly sick as well as losing both weight and general excitement for life.
“After a few years on medication and thanks to a very caring consultant who would listen and find new ways to help me, I managed to feel much better. I could start engaging in my usual activities again and by 18 I had managed to get selected to row for the England team.
“Going through university my desire to understand my condition grew, and now I am doing a PhD at the University of Edinburgh in immunology and inflammation.
“Research for me is not only my work but is also my daily life and has allowed me to achieve so many things from being able to lead a normal life to winning medals and pursuing my chosen career. Without research teams and the constant innovation, my love for being outside and active wouldn’t be able to be acknowledged.”
Over a million people take part in clinical research in the UK every year. In the past year in NHS Lothian, we supported nearly 800 studies and recruited over 13,000 participants into projects. Last year, over 35,000 participants across Scotland took part in over 1,500 vital clinical research trials. These trials spanned all disease areas and demonstrated the incredible work of the research community in advancing future healthcare. . Professor Alasdair Gray, NHS Lothian Research and Development Director aid: “It’s so important to recognise the impact of research on improvements in healthcare and the difference this makes to patients.
“We are fortunate in Lothian to have a well-established research and development office, called ACCORD, which is a partnership between NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh.
“ACCORD supports the delivery of a broad range of research projects that offer patients the chance to take part in new clinical trials and be at the forefront of improving treatment for patients in Scotland.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
