Clinical Researcher—June 2019 (Volume 33, Issue 6)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Jim Kremidas
As the summer movie season hits theaters, I’m reminded of Toy Story hero Buzz Lightyear announcing some of his adventures by leaping high and saying, “To infinity! And beyond!”
Well, your Association is covering a lot of ground these days, too. From recent partnerships forged in Latin America and Singapore (and others on the horizon), to an exciting ACRP Southeast Regional Conference coming closer to home in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area of North Carolina, we’re working together the spread the word that it’s time to truly professionalize the clinical trial workforce.
I’m especially excited about the fall regional event, which will mark the first time ACRP has done this sort of conference since the “Scientific Meetings” that supplemented our annual gatherings for a stretch of years in the early-to-mid 1980s. Scheduled for October 3–4, the ACRP Southeast Regional Conference is being organized in conjunction with the ACRP Research Triangle Park Chapter. Attendees will have a lot of fun, will learn a lot, and can garner 12 ACRP contact hours in the process. If the event is successful, we’ll plan to do more in the future in different areas.
I’m also looking forward to the regional conference because that’s where the winner of the PopUp Star competition will be announced. We’re proud to be part of PopUp Star, an industry-sponsored contest to bring clinical trial awareness to the public by challenging stakeholders to lead teams that will create the ultimate clinical trial community awareness event. Diverse teams from across the world compete to raise awareness of the importance of clinical research as a care option within communities. PopUp Star has expanded to 12 entries this year from four in 2018.
It’ll be an evening of celebration and festivity in RTP with the competing PopUp Star teams, judges, sponsors, and VIPs getting a chance to hang out, swap stories and ideas, and perhaps come up with new ways to further elevate the clinical trial workforce.
I hope to get the chance to see you in RTP!
Jim Kremidas (jkremidas@acrpnet.org) is Executive Director for ACRP.
