Insights

As we celebrate Clinical Trials Day 2025 under the theme "Powered by Purpose," I want to focus on supporting PIs, which can help fulfill our collective purpose of advancing medical science and improving patient lives. After all, even the most groundbreaking molecule won’t reach patients without PIs there to shepherd it through clinical development.

From the moment one begins immersing oneself in the full education, networking, and workforce development advocacy experience that an Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) conference encompasses, there’s almost limitless possibilities for meeting and learning from the new and exciting personalities one may encounter.

From a 20,000-foot view of how artificial intelligence (AI) is already reshaping the conduct of clinical research and what its future uses may bring, to insights on innovative models to promote pathways into the profession, to a summary of trends in data strategies for health equity and inclusion in Europe, to an in-the-trenches chat on the basics of site budgeting best practices for clinical trials, ACRP 2025’s closing day activities on Sunday (April 27) continued to cover the broad spectrum of challenges and opportunities facing the enterprise in these exciting times.

Signature Series speakers took on more of the clinical research enterprise’s “big picture” topics at ACRP 2025 on Saturday, focusing on the implications for clinical trials teams of the recently updated ICH E6(R3) Guideline for Good Clinical Practice, and on how seasoned professionals are enacting meaningful change in their organizations for the betterment of trial implementation and management.

With recent federal actions upending business as usual for many stakeholders in the clinical research enterprise, some of its thought leaders pondered the big question of “Where does clinical research go from here?” during Friday’s (April 25) first Signature Series gathering at ACRP 2025 in New Orleans.