News By: Gary Cramer

We’ve all heard the maxim that “bigger is not better,” but who is really paying attention to it in the clinical research enterprise? One expert observer who will speak at ACRP 2027 in San Diego says that, as clinical research site networks expand through acquisitions, partnerships, new site activations, and geographic growth, the challenge extends beyond increasing the number of locations. She notes that, particularly for advanced and complex therapies, sustainable expansion requires operational infrastructure, governance, and site readiness to keep pace with network growth.

In her upcoming presentation for ACRP 2027 in San Diego, Sahar Zahid, MD, will examine the “butterfly effect” of such actions as a single copy-and-paste from a source document into an AI tool by one professional potentially having repercussions downwind for participant privacy, sponsor confidentiality, contractual obligations, institutional policy, vendor governance, data security, study integrity, and organizational trust.

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, ACRP is pleased to share the following contribution from Estephanie Charria, RN, BSN, CCRC, for whom this month is more than a celebration of where she comes from—it is an opportunity to reflect on how her heritage has shaped the way she sees healthcare, advocacy, and the people she has the privilege of serving.

In our latest visit with the ACRP Fellows as part of ACRP's 50th Anniversary celebration, we hear about the importance of supporting the clinical research workforce amidst rising technological and operational challenges while never forgetting the human side of clinical trials from MeeLee Tom, MS, CCRA, ACRP-CP, ACRP-PM, ACRP-MDP, FACRP.

As clinical trial team members seek to balance the eternal yin and yang of research projects’ often cold and technological-, regulatory-, and protocol-driven side vs. their very warm and human outreach-, recruitment-, and retention-focused elements, contributors to the next issue of ACRP’s Clinical Researcher journal remind readers that patient centricity must never be an afterthought in the pursuit of medical breakthroughs.