As part of the UoA’s involvement in the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025, on the 21st July, members of the Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation (ACE) welcomed visitors from around the world to explore clinical trials in the event’s Discovery Zone at the Castlegate. Donning naval costume, the ACE crew brought history to life by retelling the story of the first known randomised trial conducted on a tall ship. They invited recruits to experience randomisation first hand in a simulated ‘Lime or Brine’ trial with the number of participants hitting a record high.
The ACE Public Engagement Group had fervently prepared for the Tall Ships Races, Europe's largest free family event, with the aim of communicating the importance of clinical trials in advancing human health and saving lives via an immersive educational activity
The ACE crew were busy throughout the day inviting the public to find out more about how a Scottish physician, James Lind, came up with an ingenious idea of randomisation to compare treatments for scurvy on HMS Salisbury in 1747. Visitors were greeted by the ringing of a brass bell and the enthusiastic call of ACE’s own version of the 18th-century surgeon, successfully capturing interest amongst the bustling crowd.
The ACE crew also offered visitors a flavour of Lind’s legacy by randomising them in the ‘Lime or Brine’ trial. Each participant was asked to draw a ball from an opaque bag. The colour of the ball determined whether the participant received a fruit (Lime) or mint (Brine) sweet. Besides the fun, the participants learned that citrus fruits, like limes and oranges, were the most effective in treating scurvy due to their vitamin C content as discovered by Lind. At the end of the ACE trial, over 700 members of the public had been randomised!
Visitors also had an opportunity to learn more about clinical trials through an online quiz designed by the Public Engagement Team.
The ACE staff were delighted and proud to have engaged such a wide and diverse population in conversation about the science of clinical trials.. The ‘Lime or Brine’ trial was also a great collaborative event for the ACE unit. Staff across the unit including the Director, trial managers, programmers, administration staff, statisticians and students across the centre working together to make the ‘Lime and Brine’ trial a successful public engagement event.