National network provides free online learning for trial innovation

The CTSA Trial Innovation Network (TIN) aims to make multi-site clinical trials as efficient as possible by reducing effort and cost. To further this mission, the TIN produces a regular webinars series to disseminate novel techniques and trainings to research teams.

New webinars are hosted every other week; anyone can join live or view the archive at a later time. The topic of each webinar varies but can be classified in one of three overarching themes.

Example Topics

Examples include: “Research with Older Adults: Recruitment and Retention Efforts”, “Subgroup Cluster-Based Bayesian Adaptive Methods for Precision Clinical Trials”, and “Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Community Engagement Advisory Board”. Research teams can also propose webinar topics for the TIN team to consider incorporating into the series.

Lecture Format

Since the CTSA program is a national effort, speakers come from top institutions across the country. Each lecture tends to be about 30-40 minutes, with sufficient time for questions at the end. Slides are tailored for a digital audience with succinct information and interactive use of webinar technology. Each time ITHS TIN Program Manager Charlie Gregor attends, he walks away thinking, “That was worth it; I learned something new.” Through this TIN initiative, researchers anywhere gain access to expertise produced specifically for an online forum.

The Trial Innovation Network is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, under award numbers U24TR001608, U24TR001597, U24TR001609, and U24TR001579.