About the Clinical Trials Office

Supporting Your Clinical Trial Experience

Mission

The Clinical Trials Office at the University of Alberta is dedicated to advancing health through the ethical, inclusive, and rigorous conduct of clinical trials. We champion participant safety, scientific integrity, and community trust by supporting researchers with expert guidance, proactive oversight, and a commitment to continuous quality improvement. Through meaningful collaboration with diverse communities and a focus on innovation, we strive to make clinical trials more equitable, impactful, and responsive to the health needs of all.

Mandate

The Clinical Trials Office at the U of A is mandated to lead, support, and oversee the ethical, inclusive, and high-quality conduct of clinical trials across the institution. Our mandate is to protect the rights, safety, dignity, and well-being of all research participants, while ensuring that the data generated through clinical trials is credible, transparent, relevant, and aligned with local and global standards.

We provide centralized oversight and guidance for clinical trials—especially investigator-initiated studies—by delivering expert support in regulatory compliance, quality assurance, project management, and risk based clinical trial monitoring. Through our commitment to a “Quality by Design” framework, we proactively identify and manage risk, promote equity, and build research systems that are resilient, accountable, and community-responsive.

Our work is grounded in principles of integrity, cultural humility, and partnership. We champion inclusive research practices that serve diverse populations, including people in rural or under-served areas. Through collaboration, innovation, and education, we aim to make clinical research more accessible, more ethical, more relevant, and more impactful—for everyone.

We place the rights, safety, and well-being of participants at the heart of everything we do. Every process, decision, and safeguard is designed to protect those who volunteer for clinical research.

We uphold the highest ethical standards in all our work. From screening and recruitment to data transparency, we commit to doing what is right—even when it’s difficult or complex.

We believe research must reflect and serve all communities. We are actively working to acknowledge, reduce, and remove barriers to trial participation and work with Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, and excluded populations to co-create meaningful, respectful, and relevant research.

We are responsible stewards of the clinical trial process. We hold ourselves—and our partners—to clear, measurable standards. Accountability to participants, funders, and the public is essential to maintaining trust.

We support research that is grounded in evidence and guided by innovative thought. Our team promotes excellence in design, execution, and evaluation, while embracing new technologies and approaches that improve outcomes.

We believe that quality is not something to check at the end—it’s something to build in from the beginning. By identifying risks early and designing with purpose, we create safer, more efficient, and more resilient clinical trials.

We listen, learn, and act in partnership with the communities we serve. We respect Indigenous ways of knowing, value local leadership, and seek long-term relationships that promote shared benefit.