Paige Druce, a member of the ANZCA Clinical Trials Network team at Monash University, brings rare and powerful lived experience to the PUMA trial.
As a heart surgery patient and carer, alongside her professional expertise as a clinical trial researcher, Paige offers a unique dual perspective. This insight is helping reshape how cardiac care is designed, studied and delivered, ensuring research prioritises not only scientific rigour but also outcomes that truly matter to patients. By embedding consumer voices from the very beginning, Paige aims for the PUMA trial, led by Dr Luke Perry at the Victorian Heart Institute, to become a model for more collaborative, patient-centred cardiac research grounded in real-world experience, strengthening trust and improving care for people undergoing heart surgery.
Banner image: (L–R) Dr Luke Perry, Paige Druce and Associate Professor Lachlan Miles.