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Neuroscience clinical trials
The Alfred Neuroscience Clinical Trials Unit is the largest clinical trial site of its kind in Australia. We are the only clinical trials unit with a dedicated inpatient early phase neuroscience clinical trials unit.
Why are clinical trials so important?
We need clinical trials to prove that a new medication, device or treatment is safe and effective for people.
Without clinical trials, new treatments and medicines cannot be approved for use in Australia.
About us
With more than 50 clinical trials open at any one time, we are fast becoming a world leader in trialling new treatments for brain conditions that have historically been untreatable.
Our highly developed and innovative clinical trial program has the capacity to manage the entire medication discovery pipeline at one site:
- Target discovery
- Pre-clinical testing
- First-in human clinical trials
- First-in-disease clinical trials
- Phase I and II clinical trials
- Large scale multicentre phase III and IV clinical trials
We have a dedicated four bed inpatient early phase neuroscience clinical trials unit with capacity for:
- Overnight and multi-day stays
- State-of-the-art dedicated high resolution brain imaging
- Neurophysiology testing
Our neuroscience clinical trials are highly sought-after by pharmacological and biotech companies for world-first national and international neurological clinical trials. We attract grants and sponsors because we have unique, word-class facilities combined with internally recognised specialists in neurological diseases. We also have well-characterised patient cohorts.
Epilepsy
The Alfred Brain team continues its groundbreaking work in the functional neurosurgery space.
Epilepsy Clinic
Alison checks Olivia's Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) in the Epilepsy Clinic.
Neurology monitoring
Some important visitors meet one of our neurology patients.
What are Phase I, II, III or IV clinical trials?
There are four different phases of a clinical trial. Each phase is represented by a roman numeral.
Our vision
- Bring new therapies to patients with nervous system disorders to address the current care gaps
- Partner with industry, academics and researchers to develop the best integrated care
- Access cutting-edge, transformational new treatments for nervous system disorders
Our focus
We conduct clinical trials for new medications and devices for nervous disorders such as:
- Dementia
- Epilepsy
- Headache
- Migraine
- Movement disorders
- Multiple sclerosis
- Neuromuscular diseases
- Neurosurgery
- Pain
- Sleep
- Stroke
Our achievements
- Lead site for a topical form CBD (medical cannabis) for people with partial onset seizures
- Australian-first site to undertake first-in-human epilepsy study for a new medication for people where current medication hasn’t worked
- Victoria’s very first bio-databank dedicated to neurological disorders
- Lead Australian site for a US-based early phase device trial to treat prolonged seizures
Our team
The Alfred Neuroscience Clinical Trials team are leaders in their fields, with decades of Australian and international experience.
Prof Terence O'Brien
Prof O'Brien is the Program Director Alfred Brain, Deputy Director of Research and Head of Neuroscience Clinical Trials Unit at The Alfred.
Prof Patrick Kwan
Prof Patrick Kwan is the Director of Epilepsy: Genomics, Personalised Medicine at Alfred Health.
Dr Elspeth Hutton
Dr Elspeth Hutton is the Deputy Director of Neurology and Head of Headache, Neuromuscular and Pain at Alfred Health.
A/Prof Anneke Van der Walt
A/Prof Anneke Van Der Walt is the Director of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology at Alfred Health.
Dr Mastura Monif
Dr Mastura Monif is the Head of Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation at Alfred Health.
Prof Geoffrey Cloud
Prof Geoffrey Cloud is the Director of Stroke at Alfred Health.
Dr Kelly Bertram
Dr Kelly Bertram is the Head of Movement Disorders at Alfred Health.
A/Prof Martin Hunn
A/Prof Martin Hunn is the Director of Neurosurgery at Alfred Health.
A/Prof David Darby
A/Prof David Darby in the Lead for Dementia Trials at Alfred Health.
Prof Helmut Butzkueven
Prof Helmut Butzkueven is the Director of Neurology and MS Trials at Alfred Health.
Are you interested in our clinical trials?
ClinTrial Refer is a quick way to see all of our open trials, in one place. It’s the easy way to find a trial that may be right for you or your patient.
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