Najib M Rahman

I am Director of the Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit (ORTU).

My personal research area is pleural disease, for which I received MRC Training Fellowship funding to conduct my DPhil. My group has designed and led multiple multicentre randomised trials in pleural disease which have altered treatment for thousands of patients per year, and appear in national and international guidelines. This includes diagnostics in malignant effusion, treatment of malignant effusion, pleural infection and pneumothorax, and the use of ultrasound and thoracoscopy. 

In parallel, I lead the Translational Pleural Laboratory, which utilises clinical samples linked to diagnosis and key clinical outcome data to understand the pathobiology of pleural disease, and identify potential new areas of treatment. 

Ongoing Research

Our current programme of research is focussed on

1. Practice changing pragmatic trials in all areas of respiratory medicine through collaborative multicentre phase 3 studies (NIHR and HTA funding). 

2. Translational science using pleural fluid and pleural biopsies to delineate underlying pathology, phenotype and treatment targets (funded via the Oxford NIHR BRC). 

3. Collaborative work across a number of different academic areas including radiology, oncology, surgery and imaging.