How supporting Elin helped transform clinical trials for thousands
Georgia McNeill Goble, Ella Greathead
4 minutes
Dr Elin Haf Davies credits the Academy's FLIER programme with helping her persevere with the vision that became Aparito.
When Dr Elin Haf Davies was close to giving up on her vision for patient-friendly clinical trials, support from the Academy helped her keep going.
Thousands of patients and healthcare professionals now use technology developed by Dr Elin Haf Davies to make taking part in clinical trials easier. At a critical point in her journey, support from the Academy of Medical Sciences helped her keep moving forward and take her impact to a global scale.
After five years building Aparito, a digital platform designed to make clinical trials more accessible and patient-friendly, she was struggling to secure investment, win contracts and persuade others that remote clinical trial assessments could work. At times, she came close to giving up.
Today, the software she developed is used in clinical studies around the world, helping thousands of patients take part in research with fewer hospital visits, less travel and a more convenient clinical trial experience. FLIER gave Elin the space, skills and supportive network she needed to continue.
Making clinical trials work better for patients
As a children's nurse, Elin witnessed first-hand the challenges children and families faced when taking part in clinical trials. Frequent travel, lengthy hospital visits and assessments that were not designed with children's needs in mind often placed a significant burden on patients.
She wanted to change that. Elin completed a PhD focused on developing better ways of measuring outcomes for children and later worked as a scientific adviser regulating paediatric medicines. However, she realised that creating meaningful change would require a different approach.
Drawing on her experience across healthcare, research and regulation, Elin founded Aparito, a digital platform designed to enable patients to complete assessments remotely, including from their own homes.
Remote healthcare is increasingly common. When Elin launched the company, the concept was still viewed with scepticism.
Help more researchers like Elin
The support to keep going
The demands of building a business were immense. Convincing investors, developing technology and leading a growing team tested Elin's resilience.
"I was starting to question whether I could do it on my own," she recalls. "Did I have the right skills, and did I have enough energy left?"
At this pivotal moment, Elin joined the Academy's FLIER programme.
FLIER is an 18-month leadership development programme that brings together emerging leaders from across the life sciences sector, helping them build networks, develop new skills and tackle major health and research challenges.
For Elin, FLIER offered something rare: time to step back, learn from others and build a trusted peer network.
Joining FLIER felt like being part of something new and special. Having that structured time out and getting to know the supportive network of friends in my cohort kept me motivated on my journey.
Elin Haf Davies
Creating change at a global scale
Following FLIER, Aparito continued to grow and was eventually acquired by Eli Lilly, a global pharmaceutical.
Today, its software platform, Atom5, is used across many Eli Lilly studies, helping patients participate in clinical trials more easily and supporting researchers to gather vital data.
"When I started FLIER, I would never have imagined that something I developed, created and invested in for over a decade would end up being used by tens of thousands of patients and healthcare professionals," says Elin. "Being able to improve their experiences of clinical trials and support new drugs getting to market is an amazing feeling."
Your support helps talented people achieve more
Elin’s story shows what can happen when supporters invest in talented people at a critical point in their careers.
By supporting the Academy, you help talented researchers, clinicians and innovators with the skills, confidence and networks they need to overcome barriers and achieve their potential. The impact extends far beyond the individual participant, creating benefits for patients, researchers and healthcare systems around the world.
As Elin reflects:
Supporting the Academy is like throwing a stone into a pond: it creates waves. Seeing where those waves can continue to go, far beyond the initial output, is the true value.
Help create the next success story
The Academy is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to pursue a career in medical research. By supporting future leaders through programmes such as FLIER, we can help accelerate the discoveries and innovations that improve health for everyone.
If Elin’s story has inspired you, please consider making or updating your donation today to help the Academy support more future leaders with the potential to transform health.