From surviving her “sink or swim” introduction to clinical trials to leading major studies and multiorganizational research efforts, Jeri Burr, RN, PED-BC, MS, CCRC, FACRP, Program Director of the HEAL Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network, Data Coordinating Resource Center, at the University of Utah School of Medicine, has experienced the clinical research enterprise from more angles than she ever expected—both as a professional and as a parent and grandparent.
The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) has opened the window of opportunity for members of the clinical research community to submit educational proposals for sessions to be presented at ACRP 2026 in Orlando, Fla., and advisors for the event emphasize that it aims to enhance the relevant workforce’s competencies, skills, professional development, and knowledge.
“If we avoid the things we are scared of, they will continue to be a problem,” says David Burrow, a Director in the FDA's Office of Scientific Investigations and forthcoming ACRP Webinar presenter. “We can all work to manage our fears, to ‘face everything and rise.’ Working together, we can cocreate solutions to reimagine clinical research and overcome barriers to innovation.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent launch of an agency-wide large language model–powered artificial intelligence (AI) tool known Elsa and ongoing efforts to have another AI tool known as CDRH-GPT in place for speeding up reviews and approvals of medical devices by the end of June have attracted their share of both supporters and detractors. With AI seemingly also coming at full speed into the daily routines of leaders and staff at clinical trial sites, contributors to ACRP’s Clinical Researcher journal are taking a closer look at current and potential applications of AI by study teams at work in the trenches.
In the midst of this Pride Month, current politically motivated headwinds may be driving some of the terminology related to inclusive research underground, but the scientific rationale for inclusive studies is here to stay because “smart science is smart business,” says a presenter from ACRP 2025.