LATEST is a collaborative research initiative integrating living evidence into adaptive platform trials to accelerate discovery, improve decision‑making, and strengthen research translation.
It is a world-first project funded by an NHMRC Ideas Grant (GNT 2048195) designed to directly connect two innovative research methodologies: adaptive platform trials and living evidence.
Adaptive platform trials are transforming clinical research by enabling trials to evolve continually in response to emerging data, while living evidence provides regularly updated evidence syntheses that ensure decisions reflect the most current global research.
LATEST brings these innovations together to understand and develop practical, robust and scalable methods for integrating living evidence into adaptive platform trial programs to use up‑to‑date external evidence, potentially improving trial efficiency, accelerating discoveries, and supporting rapid translation into practice and policy.
Over four years, we will seek to understand where and how we can amplify the efficiency potential of APTs by developing and testing methods for integrating LE into APTs. The project has three aims:
1. Determine which decisions in an APT are best informed by LE
2. Develop and test methods for integrating LE into APTs
3. Investigate the real-world impact of using LE in APTs
Adaptive platform trials (APTs) offer extensive savings in the cost of research and the time taken to discover effective treatments. APTs use advanced statistical methods combined with master protocols to create flexible, enduring and ethical research infrastructure that can adapt and respond to emerging research data. These responsive adaptations vastly reduce research waste and accelerate the translation of findings into healthcare, compared with traditional trials.
Until now, there has been no way to identify and integrate emerging external research into APT decisions.
By investigating where and how to integrate APTs and LE, which are both underpinned by the need to (i) adapt to likely changes in evidence and context and (ii) use efficient, robust methods, this project will help to minimise research waste and accelerate the discovery and implementation of effective interventions.
A multidisciplinary collaboration of leaders in adaptive platform trials design, living evidence synthesis, health economics, qualitative research and user‑centered design.
Chief Investigators
Prof Tari Turner, Monash University
Dr Samantha Chakraborty, Monash University
Prof Sally Green, Monash University
Dr Steve McDonald, Monash University
Dr Shaira Baptista, Monash University
Associate Investigators
Prof Allen Cheng AC, Monash University
Prof Andrew Forbes, Monash University
Dr Alisa Higgins, Empiric Health
Prof Trisha Peel, Monash University
Dr Elizabeth Ryan, Monash University
Prof Lena Sanci, University of Melbourne
Prof Steven Tong, University of Melbourne
Prof Rory Wolfe, Monash University
Prof Erica Wood AO, Monash University
The LATEST project is supported by an NHMRC Ideas Grant (GNT 2048195)
Job No.: 689242
Location: Melbourne
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: 3-year fixed-term appointment
Supervisory Team: Dr Samantha Chakraborty, Professor Tari Turner
We are seeking expressions of interest from talented candidates who wish to apply for a PhD to undertake research enhancing adaptive platform trial (APT) design to improve efficiencies in research generation and accelerate the impact of research on health outcomes.
The PhD research projects will be embedded in a wider research program funded by an NHMRC Ideas Grant focused on advancing adaptive platform trials by incorporating new external research as it emerges. The two PhD projects will be based at the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and candidates will work closely with team members from multiple adaptive platform trials across Australia.
PhD candidates will receive rigorous training in public health and knowledge translation studies. You will also enjoy the potential to attend national and international conferences.
Two project-specific PhD scholarships are available.
If you are currently or have recently been involved with an adaptive platform trial, we want to hear from you. Please send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
