The American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI) Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Steering Committee, along with the assistance of peer reviewers from the CRI community, selected three abstracts from 77 submissions for formal presentation at the 12th annual AACI CRI virtual meeting July 7-8.
Among the three winning abstracts selected was one submitted by Britni Secor, PharmD, research pharmacist in the Investigational Drug Section at the Mays Cancer Center. Dr. Secor won third place for her abstract, Enhancing Productivity: Utilizing the ONBASE Application and Pharmacist Created Order Sets to Streamline the Trial Launch Process.
This is the first abstract submitted by the Mays Cancer Center to be selected for presentation at the AACI meeting. Entries are judged upon the novelty of concept, solutions applied, ability to apply solutions at other cancer centers, metrics achieved and lessons learned.
Dr. Secor’s abstract sought a solution to improve the process of reviewing and correcting study forms required for Beacon order set builds. This improvement has led to faster activation times for studies and a collection of metrics.
Members of the collaborative project led by Dr. Secor include: Ivan Reveles, PharmD, director of the Investigational Drug Section, David Yzquierdo, pharmacy technician, Angela Rodriguez, MS, quality assurance auditor, Melissa Nashawati, MPA, director of the Quality Assurance Division, and clinical trial office managers, Maggie Tomasini and Patty Manea, RN.
Dr. Secor’s submission can be seen here.
Other winning abstract authors were from the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center at Mānoa. The selected abstracts illustrate the creative and thoughtful methods that are being employed at AACI cancer centers to address issues within the clinical trial process.
All three winning abstracts will be presented during a virtual session on Wednesday, July 8.
Registration for AACI cancer center members is free for this year’s meeting. Individuals interested can register here: https://www.aaci-cancer.org/cri-annual-meeting.
The topic of this year’s meeting is Focus on the Future. The meeting is designed to support leaders of cancer center clinical trial offices as they work to improve the clinical research process, understand the global impact of conducting clinical research in the United States and abroad, discuss trends in clinical trial safety and compliance and recommend policies to promote staff retention. Members and attendees are primarily from NCI-Comprehensive and NCI-Designated Cancer Centers.
AACI cancer centers are comprised of 100 premier academic and freestanding cancer research centers in the U.S. and Canada.
Representing the Mays Cancer Center at AACI is Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, director of the Mays Cancer Center, and Melissa Nashawati, MPA, quality assurance director at the Mays Cancer Center.
Dr. Mesa serves on both the Nominating Committee for the AACI Board of Directors and on the Physician Clinical Leadership Committee. Melissa Nashawati serves on the CRI Steering Committee, which in addition to planning the annual AACI CRI meeting, guides and implements activities that encourage best practices and efficient use of resources and operations in cancer center clinical research facilities.