Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of 17 sites across the country, and the only one in the Yorkshire and Humber, to have been selected to trial the latest COVID-19 candidate vaccine.

Researchers from the Trust will be calling on 330 people, some from the NHS COVID-19 Research Vaccines Registry, to take part in the large scale study which will recruit up to 30,000 people worldwide.

The Phase 3 study is being co-funded by the UK government’s Vaccine Taskforce and will test the safety and effectiveness of a new two-dose regimen for a vaccine candidate, developed by The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

The project will see volunteers visit the NIHR Sheffield CRF and receive two injections of the trial vaccine within a two-month period. No one taking part in this study will be disadvantaged when a COVID-19 vaccine is approved and rolled out for general use.

Please read more on the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals news page.

(November 2020)

International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD) is held each year on 20 May and commemorates the date when the first controlled clinical trial was conducted in 1747. Since then, research has played a vital role in improving healthcare for everyone.

Now more than ever clinical research is crucial, as it will help us understand more about COVID-19, and progress the development of potential treatments and effective vaccines in the future. Developing drugs and vaccines usually takes a number of years, but now, internationally and nationally, funding bodies, researchers and regulatory authorities are working tirelessly together to accomplish this process much quicker for COVID-19 research.  However, there are still challenges ahead, such as if a suitable vaccine is identified, how quickly can it be mass produced for the global population. Researchers and healthcare professionals from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are working together at the forefront of this urgent research.

If you would like to hear more about how Sheffield is at the centre of this important work, you are invited to join a live online discussion via Skype with experts from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust about research into COVID-19 on 24th June 2020 at 6pm. 

The live discussion will be hosted by Sheffield Culture Hub, a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, Sheffield City Council and Our Favourite Places, launched to host arts and cultural events online, as well as other activities from around the city to support the cultural and creative sectors during the coronavirus lockdown.

We are asking members of the public to submit their questions about COVID-19 research for our panel of experts by 10 June 2020, and they will try and answer as many as they can during the event. To submit your questions please complete this online form. 

You can also keep up to date on all things ICTD throughout the day on our Twitter feed.

(May 2020)

NHS Trusts are being asked to contribute to the national research activity relating to COVID-19, and we are taking part in a number of research studies aimed at improving our understanding of the virus and progressing the development of possible treatments. 

COVID-19 research has been given priority status by the Chief Medical Officer for England and the Department of Health and Social Care. Teams across the Trust are leading or participating in national and international research trials and observational studies, with further research being established.

Further information relating to COVID-19 research can be found on the Sheffield Clinical Research and Innovation Office (CRIO) website:

Current COVID-19 trials and other research at STH

Information for researchers on COVID-19

COVID-19 funding opportunities

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