Blog

In a forthcoming peer-reviewed article for ACRP’s Clinical Researcher journal, Anthony Chew, a clinical trial operations professional and recent graduate of the MS program in Medical Product Development Management at San Jose State University, describes CRAs as serving as “the primary liaison between the sponsor and the site by monitoring and verifying data to ensure accuracy and adherence to protocols. They collaborate with investigators, conduct site visits [including for site feasibility/selection and validation/qualification purposes followed by study initiation and ongoing monitoring], and maintain strict documentation to guarantee the integrity of a trial.” 

It seems as if there’s an app for everything, and mobile apps are becoming more common in clinical trials. Using an app in a study can be tricky, though, especially when it comes to regulatory compliance.  

The Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center (MRCT Center) of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard has introduced the Clinical Research Glossary (CRG), which offers plain language definitions along with additional contextual information that research professionals can use to empower participants and their families. 

Just in time to help recognize Pride Month, ACRP’s Clinical Researcher journal is pleased to share the first details from the lead peer-reviewed article on “Improving Cardiovascular Research for Transgender and Gender Diverse Populations” from a trio of WCG IRB expert contributors to the June issue. The article bolsters the issue’s “Let’s Get Personal: Scaling Clinical Research Down to You and Me” theme as it joins several other contributed pieces focused on patient centricity and personalized or precision medicine topics. 

As with many other professional associations, earning a one-time certificate of achievement in a focused topic from the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) can be a valuable, as-needed pursuit to bring one up to speed in a new job function in one’s daily work. As well, it can be part of preparing oneself to eventually take a detailed certification test (to become a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC®) or Certified Clinical Research Associate (CCRA®), for example), and an option for accumulating the contact hours needed to maintain an existing certification with ACRP.