February 2024 SOCRA Source Journal - Journal - Page 4
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Colleagues.
Thank you so very much for your commitment to clinical research - as we
break free of many of the precautions, restrictions, and encumbrances
imposed by the COVID pandemic. If you are new to clinical research, postpandemic, thank you for selecting clinical research as a next rung in your
career. If you served in clinical research prior to and during the pandemic,
congratulation to you on your fortitude and steadfastness. We certainly
learned to adapt and respond to so many unexpected challenges while still
abiding by the good clinical research practice regulations and the guidance
documents and standard operating procedures that we trained on and managed by previously.
Post pandemic, we see much more emphasis on risk based planning, execution, and monitoring. We are
relying more heavily on remote monitoring and decentralized trials. We are making it as easy as possible to
enroll patients and for patients to enroll in clinical trials, to remotely manage the informed consent process,
and to assure participant understanding and full agreement before proceeding with any protocol activities.
SOCRA program leaders and speakers responded to the pandemic by converting to virtual programming,
and our certification committee moved quickly to implement “at-home” testing. Now that we have entered
a new environment for developing and delivering conferences, workshops and certification exams, we
are offering a greater variety of options to our members and stakeholders. In-person programs are again
included in our events calendar, as we continue to offer virtual learning opportunities.
Our 2023 Annual Conference will welcome you to the beautiful city of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. The
Montreal convention center “Le Palais des congrès de Montréal” is located next to Chinatown and Old
Montreal, both great areas for dining and sightseeing. The convention center offers excellent meeting
facilities, is really easy to navigate, and is very close to all of our convention hotels. Above ground and
below ground shopping and restaurants are excellent opportunities to enjoy Montreal while staying close to
our conference area.
Our Annual Conference offers fourteen detail oriented GCP related pre-conference workshops, and ninetythree speakers will offer their expertise during our plenary sessions and tracks. Planned speakers include
representatives from Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Office of Human
Research Protections and clinical research professionals from industry and academia. Our poster session
and our exhibits will add additional opportunities for making connections. I hope that you will consider
coming to Montreal for an informative and rewarding opportunity for learning and networking.
Thank you, again,
Jennifer Li, BSc, CCRP
President, Society of Clinical Research Associates
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SOCRA SOURCE © May 2023