Clinical research has become highly complex over the last few decades, due to the convoluted healthcare demands that have evolved with rapidly growing population demands. Clinical trials have equally become complex in methodological sophistication, regulatory scrutiny and the requirement for high quality standards to inform better clinical practice. As such, Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) were borne some 25 years ago, to support the delivery of clinical trials and are multidisciplinary specialist units. The Oxford Brain Health Clinical Trials Unit was set up in 2019 to help support psychiatry- focused clinical trials. This talk will describe the basic fundamentals of a clinical trial and what is required to design a clinical trial protocol, set up and run a trial, and analyse the subsequent data, as well as touching on the current regulatory hurdles in doing this. It will provide some basic information for all researchers involved in or interested in getting involved in clinical trials.