CTC Talks Showcase: Novel Contemporary Clinical Trials in 2026

Join the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre & Department of Cardiology, RPAH, to explore novel, contemporary clinical trials in 2026.

Event Details

• Date: Monday, 2 March 2026
• Location: Scott Skirving Lecture Theatre, Level 6, Kerry Packer Education Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Showcase Schedule

• 10:15am – Morning tea & networking
• 10:30am – Welcome & introductions - Prof Anthony Keech

Reducing the Burden of Vascular Disease

• 10:35am – Novel trials in inflammation - A/Prof David Conen
• 11:10am – RESTORE MI: A physiological‑targeted MI trial for microvascular obstruction - Prof Martin Ng

Renal Disease

• 11:40am – SWIFT: A registry‑embedded ePROMs trial - Prof Rachael Morton
• 12:15pm – Lunch & networking
• 1:00pm – Consensus & controversies in renal research - Prof Meg Jardine

Tackling Atrial Fibrillation

• 1:35pm – Atrial fibrillation: Issues & challenges - A/Prof David Conen
• 2:10pm – SAFER: A randomised trial of AF screening - Prof Ben Freedman
• 2:30pm – Afternoon tea & networking
• 2:45pm – Meeting close

About the speakers:

Prof Anthony Keech is senior Principal Research Fellow and Director of Cardiovascular Research at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre. Keech is Professor of Medicine, Cardiology and Epidemiology at the University of Sydney, an internationally renowned researcher in the field of cardiovascular clinical trials, and principal investigator of the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study. Keech is a founding member of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, formed in 2012 to promote effective and evidence-based healthcare in Australia through investigator-initiated clinical trials. Prof Keech has been awarded or co-awarded a career total of over $256 million in government & industry grants. Keech’s recent grant success includes an Investigator, several MRFF & Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grants. Keech has held an NHMRC Research Fellowship since 1997 and has received NHMRC grant funding for over 20 years. Prof Keech has published over 320 peer-reviewed articles (>21,000 citations). Keech’s top 10 papers have been cited over 1000 times, with their 2005 Lancer paper cited 8646 times.

A/Prof David Conen is a trained internist and cardiologist. He is a Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator at the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, where he holds an appointment as Associate Professor. Dr. Conen obtained a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University in Boston, USA. He has extensive knowledge in the design, development, management, analysis, interpretation and reporting of large-scale epidemiology studies and clinical trials. Dr. Conen is an internationally known clinician scientist. He has set up one of the largest perioperative atrial fibrillation research programs worldwide. He is the Principal Investigator of two large multinational clinical trials to prevent and treat perioperative atrial fibrillation (COP-AF and ASPIRE-AF). He collaborates with >100 sites in >20 countries. He is involved in the leadership of many international cardiovascular and perioperative trials.. He has published more than 300 manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals. His H-Index is 80 on Google Scholar. He has received several prestigious grants and awards in Switzerland and Canada.

Prof Martin Ng is a Coronary and Structural Heart Interventional Cardiologist at RPAH and University of Sydney, and Head of Cardiology at Macquarie University. He has strong interests in clinical, scientific and technological innovation in cardiology. As founder of the transcatheter heart valve program at RPAH, he has established a program that has set benchmarks for excellence in clinical outcomes on an international level. Notably, Prof. Ng has pioneered world firsts in minimally invasive treatment of heart disease. Synergistic to his clinical interests, Prof. Ng heads a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) supported bench-to-bedside biomedical research program, that seeks to address unmet patient needs by developing new treatments for heart disease. He is head of Translational Research and Bioengineering at the Heart Research Institute and has won numerous awards for research and innovation.

Prof Rachael Morton is Professor and Director of health economics and health technology assessment at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She specialises in trial-based and modelled economic evaluation, and elicitation of patient preferences using discrete choice experiments. Her research incorporates patient-centred and economic outcomes into clinical trials of diagnostic tests, new treatments and models of care to facilitate policy decision-making on the basis of cost-effectiveness. Professor Morton’s research interests include the health economics of melanoma, and chronic kidney disease. She also has an interest in health equity in disadvantaged populations both in Australia and overseas. Her methodological interests include systematic reviews of economic evidence, assessment of test evaluation and monitoring, measurement of quality of life and wellbeing, and end-of-life care.

Prof Meg Jardine is the Director of the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney and Lead of the Kidney Health Research Program. Her research has focussed on investigating the progression and complications of non-communicable diseases, particularly kidney disease and diabetes, through randomised trials and epidemiological analyses. She has experience in the design and conduct of national and international trials. Prof Jardine has a particular interest in expanding the use of innovative and cost-effective methodologies to increase the generation of high-quality evidence. Her interests include the integration of clinical care and research endeavours, and the promotion of learning health system principles to contribute to their efficient delivery. Prof Jardine is a member of the Executive Committees of both the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and of the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) international nephrology guidelines body. She is Chair of the International Society of Nephrology Advancing Clinical Trials (ISN-ACTS) initiative. She serves as a Board Member of the Kidney Health Initiative, a public-private collaboration of the American Society of Nephrology and the US (United States) FDA (Food and Drug Administration). She is a Board member of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) and a member of the ANZSN (Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology) Research Advisory Committee. Prof Jardine is a specialist nephrologist at Concord Repatriation General Hospital and a proud recipient of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology T.J.Neale award for Outstanding Contribution to Nephrological Science.

Prof Ben Freedman is Director External Affairs and Group Leader Heart Rhythm and stroke Prevention Group at Sydney’s Heart Research Institute Sydney, Honorary Professor of Cardiology Faculty of Medicine and Health, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, and former head of Department of Cardiology Concord Hospital. He holds honorary or adjunct professorial titles at Monash and Melbourne Universities and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His major research interest is stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. In 2015 he formed the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration with 5 others. It now has over 240 members from 40 countries. He co-chaired the 2020 World Heart Federation’s AF-Roadmap update, and co-chaired 2020 APHRS guidance on screening for AF. In 2011 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for service to medicine as a clinician, educator and researcher, and in 2023 received the NSW ministerial senior Researcher award for cardiovascular research excellence.

About CTC Talks: Learning

CTC Talks: Learning (previously CTC in Learning) is an NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (CTC) led education initiative aimed at FMH and University of Sydney staff as well as external academics and clinical research professionals. The program provides a convenient and unique forum for academics, researchers and clinical trials professionals to learn from experts in clinical trials science, methodology, and operational research.