The Clinical Research Secretariat (CRS) DAE Clinical Trial Centre was established to strengthen India’s capacity to conduct high-quality, ethically sound randomized clinical trials. The Center not only trains clinicians in evidence-based medicine but also addresses research questions of high national relevance that may not attract global commercial interest.

DAE CTC bridges the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical application by facilitating well-designed human studies. It supports large-scale public health trials, evaluation of novel biologics, vaccines, indigenous therapies, and cost-effective technology assessments—areas crucial for a country with diverse healthcare challenges. The Centre also acts as a national resource for conducting very large randomized trials for agencies such as ICMR, DBT, DST, and NPC, and serves as a platform to validate emerging therapies and diagnostics.

Established in 1997, the Clinical Research Secretariat (CRS) at Tata Memorial Hospital serves as the central hub for all clinical research activities across the institute. CRS was created with a vision to transform the vast clinical and laboratory data generated at TMC into meaningful scientific evidence that ultimately improves patient care.

CRS provides comprehensive support across all stages of clinical research, including data collection, data management, quality assurance, statistical analysis, protocol development, and the conduct of both prospective and retrospective studies. Over the years, the Secretariat has facilitated numerous nationally significant and pioneering research initiatives that have contributed to the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines. The unit plays a pivotal role in encouraging hypothesis-driven research, testing novel therapeutic concepts, supporting multicentre national trials, and generating evidence relevant to India and other low-resource settings. Our core belief remains: the harvest of scientific discovery must ultimately reach the patient’s bedside.

1. Education and Training
   We bridge the gap in formal clinical research training by offering:
   Workshops on Clinical Research Methodology and Good Clinical Practice – Basic and Advanced course
   Training in trial design, epidemiology, biostatistics, and data management
   Practical sessions on research software
   Fellowships that help train the next generation of clinical researchers across India
2. National Research Coordination & Networking: DAECTC serves as the central hub for multicentre randomized trials. A core advisory group of leading oncologists guides national research priorities and supports collaborative cancer studies across 8–10 major centres.
3. Centralized Laboratory Services: With ACTREC’s state-of-the-art facilities, we provide standardized testing for multicentre research—such as hormone, receptor, enzyme assays, and genetic marker evaluation—ensuring consistency and high-quality results.
4. Advisory Support for Investigators: Our experts assist research teams across India with protocol writing, CRF development, sample size calculation, and overall study design to strengthen project quality and feasibility.
5. Scientific Conferences & Knowledge Sharing: We regularly host national and international meetings to promote evidence-based oncology. A notable example is the landmark conference held at Tata Memorial Hospital to develop uniform national cancer care guidelines.