Question: do you test when you think you have a cure if so how

Hephzi Tagoe answered on 6 Mar 2015:

@alicepalace This is a really good question. Yes, we will have to run tests when we think we have a cure.
The actual research process can take a very long time to find a cure and I may not be able to achieve that during my PhD.
However, My department is based at the Institute of Child Health which is a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital. Kids from all over the country with this condition come to the hospital so we have skin samples available from actual patients which we can use for our preliminary tests.
At this point, instead of using the skin cells we will be using actual skin tissues to run the experiments.
The final stage will be the start of clinical trials where a cure (if found) is tested directly on patients.
This is a very long process though and as I said earlier will not be reached during my PhD.
On average it takes about 12years from when a potential chemical is identified that could cure a disease, to running experiemnts and actually having the drug approved for use and the whole process involves a cross disciplne of scientists.
So someone started before me, I’m continuing and there will be many after me to carry on. This is science. 🙂