Jane Whitehead

My role

I work as a Clinical Research Practitioner based primarily in Southampton.

My main area of work has been in Sexual Health, however i am often involved in trials that cover most clinical specialties within the community setting.

My responsibilities

I am responsible for setting up studies, checking suitability of potential participants. I ensure that participants are recruited to studies in a safe and timely and appropriate manner by taking informed consent and that they are looked after and cared for throughout the duration of the study that they are part of. I am responsible for ensuring the smooth running of trials that i am involved in. This includes clinical trial administration and handling data as well as many clinical duties such as venepuncture, swabbing, urinalysis, height and weight measurements, blood pressure and general clinical care of the participants. When I am not dealing with participants face to face I am ensuring that the studies that we are working on are running along smoothly in the background.

My background

I have a largely administrative background and spent a few years working as a team leader and co-ordinator within the HR department for Solent NHS Trust. My love for the clinical aspect of my role started through working for NHS Direct as a Health Information and Medicines advisor for 7 years. It gave me the interest to want to take it further and Research & Improvement seemed the perfect next step in my career.

Why I love my job

I have been working in the Research & Improvement team since 2015. I enjoy working in Research very much and I love everything that my role in this team stands for. Sexual Health Research is such an interesting and diverse department to work in and I learn something new every day. I am also lucky enough to work across other departments such as Podiatry, Diabetes, MSK and Paediatrics. I love working as a team and meeting new patients regularly. Our Research & Improvement team is absolutely full of experience and expertise from all different areas. The knowledge and skills our team has is invaluable and I feel extremely privileged to be part of that.

More about me

Outside of work I am a busy mum and wife, I have boys who play football so I am very often stood on the side-line of a football pitch in all weathers somewhere in the country, being a dedicated soccer mum. I love to run and I like to participate in occasional 10k and half marathon races, and i enjoy classes at the Gym. I enjoy socialising with my family and friends and I am often out having fun and a few drinks (when I can).

Current projects/research studies

PREVENAR - Paediatric post pneumococcal conjugate vaccine nasopharyngeal carriage study.

COAT - Paediatric post pneumococcal conjugate vaccine nasopharyngeal carriage study.

EPI-HSV-006 BOD TH - A descriptive, prospective, multi-country, multicentre study to assess performance of genital Herpes Simplex Virus-2 (HSV-2) related disease endpoints based on patient-reported health outcomes, self-swabbing collected via decentralised approach in patients ≥ 18 years of age in the United States and Europe.

REDUCE - Reducing the impact of diabetic foot ulcers (REDUCE): A effectiveness and cost-effectiveness Randomised Controlled Trial.

POISE - Predictors of Outcome in Sciatica patients following an Epidural steroid injection: A prospective cohort study.