Submitted by A.S. Quenault on Tue, 03/03/2026 - 12:37
Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP) and Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine (CCAIM) brought together leading industry and academic researchers to explore the potential of AI transforming clinical trials.
The exclusive, invite-only event was held on Tuesday 24 February at The Ray Dolby Centre at the University of Cambridge. It brought together key voices from across academia, industry, and the NHS, to explore new collaborations and partnering opportunities for a new Cambridge-based initiative about using AI to optimise clinical trials. Co-hosted by CUHP and the CCAIM, the day was entirely dedicated to exploring new collaborations and partnering opportunities to positively disrupt and modernise the clinical trial landscape.
The comprehensive agenda tackled the most pressing questions at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Working sessions focused on highly innovative concepts, such as the potential for 'human-less trials' using AI-enabled digital twins, alongside strategies for maximising overall trial success with AI (which included Adaptive Designs). Beyond trial design, the event also zoomed out to address broader systemic milestones, including the creation of a new Health Data Service for the UK and the future landscape for regulating AI in healthcare.
BSU Director, John Whittaker, and Group Leader, Sofía Villar, both attended, and Sofía was invited to give an expert talk on the topic of adaptive designs as a blueprint for ethical, AI-driven trials, which draws on her extensive knowledge of improving clinical trial designs through innovative methods that lie in the intersection between optimisation, machine learning and statistics.
Crucially, the ultimate focus remained on patient impact, underscored by a fireside chat on using AI to accelerate the delivery of medicines to patients, featuring Rory Cellan-Jones, award-winning podcaster and Parkinson's disease patient advocate.
John and Sofía were excited to participate in the event and hope that the Unit will play a pivotal role in this new project.
Sofía said:
"It was a wonderful challenge to distill the ideas and hard work of so many colleagues at the BSU into just an eight-minute presentation. I chose to focus on how using AI in the operational aspects of trials is fundamentally different from using it in trial design and analysis. They differ significantly both in what they can achieve and in the unique challenges required to unleash their potential. Innovating in the design and analysis space—which produces the actual evidence used to inform clinical decision-making—demands a highly transparent approach. We can achieve this by building upon the adaptive design frameworks we already successfully use elsewhere. Ultimately, this is how we can turn AI from a 'black box' into a 'glass box'!"