Experts at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are giving the public a chance to see some of the latest developments in medical research at an event on Tuesday 20 May.

The hospital's annual research open day provides people with the chance to meet researchers and see how they are working to improve our knowledge of illness and injury.

The free event coincides with International Clinical Trials Day and promises a great hands-on experience with opportunities to see demonstrations, listen to talks by experts and even get involved as a research subject.

It's a great day to find out more about our current clinical trials and how they work.

There will be more than 40 presentation stands on the day, plus a series of talks with topics ranging from the 'Bionic Ear' and 'Pupillometer' to 'Microbiology' and 'Sexual Health'.

Patients and healthy members of the public can find out how they can get involved in research which offers cutting-edge treatments or expands our understanding of how the human body works.

The showcase takes place on Tuesday 20 May from 10:00 to 16:00 in the atrium and Education Centre of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Refreshments will be available on the day and members of the public are encouraged to attend to find out how they can get involved in some of the country's most exciting clinical research.

Exhibits include:

• MEGA Lungs: the world's only portable, inflatable, walk-through lung exhibit
• Sexual health myth busters
• Institute of Translational Medicine: a new research facility
• Birmingham Health Partners: collaborative research
• What does a liver feel like?
• How do we research rare diseases?
• See how we learn from injured soldiers

The event is being coordinated under the banner of Birmingham Health Partners which brings together the clinical, scientific and academic excellence of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Birmingham.

Factfile

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is home to some of the country’s leading clinical research institutions, and is dedicated to developing and implementing groundbreaking treatments, technologies and techniques to benefit patient care.

The Trust’s extensive and innovative Research and Development portfolio gives access to new medicines earlier as part of clinical trials, which can provide new treatments for patients for whom conventional treatments might have failed.

During 2013/14, the Trust delivered many benefits to patients on clinical trials, such as reduced symptoms, improved survival times and improved quality of life. These included patients with prostate cancer, cancers of the blood, relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and Hepatitis C Virus infection.

The number of patients successfully recruited to participate in research over the past year was 10,778.

At any time the Trust is running more than 200 active clinical trials.

The Trust runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, which provides direct clinical services to nearly 900,000 patients every year.