By Peter J. O’Dwyer, MD (left)
and Mitchell D. Schnall, MD, PhD

As winter gives way to spring, our preparations for resubmission of the two most important ECOG-ACRIN grants are gathering pace. Please don’t be surprised if we are in touch for data clarification, advice, or requests to review! We expect to have clarity on submission dates in the near future and will publicize these when available. In the meantime, a number of projects under the “Big Data” rubric are nearing activation, and we would draw your attention to the Data Science Committee Session at our Spring Group Meeting (May 1–3 in Baltimore), where these will be discussed in detail. We are also close to a final document for our initial real-world data trial, and this will be available especially to community sites. We would be delighted to hear of your interest in such studies. Please drop a line to Alison Bricker at abricker@ecog-acrin.org to be included. 

We have been keen to find a home in ECOG-ACRIN for advanced practice providers (APPs), and under the leadership of Drs. Al Benson and Bridget O’Brien Fagan, a working group has been meeting to develop a structure and a purpose. The working group met during the Fall 2023 Group Meeting to engage APPs in ECOG-ACRIN and to review the collaborative work undertaken to date with the other cooperative groups and the NCI. Previous participation of APPs in ECOG-ACRIN meetings has been limited, but there is interest in broadening their involvement since many APPs care for clinical trial patients. The working group recognized the need for additional training of APPs who are new to clinical research, and they are in the process of completing an APP Research Manual to be shared across the NCI National Clinical Trials Network. The plan is to organize the working group as a committee and hold monthly conference calls. The intent is to advance the work of engaging APPs within ECOG-ACRIN and increase education for these providers. The committee also aims to enhance accrual of patients to clinical trials while promoting knowledge of managing trial participants. The APP Committee will meet again at the Spring Group Meeting and all interested APPs are encouraged to participate in this session.

Recently, ECOG-ACRIN welcomed Dr. Catherine Handy Marshall (Johns Hopkins University/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center), one of five inaugural Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Clinical Investigator Leadership Award (Winn CILA) recipients. This three-year career and leadership development program is designed to provide clinical cancer investigators with advanced clinical trials knowledge, leadership skills, mentorship and​​ sponsorship to succeed as independent clinical researchers, team members, and leaders. The program represents a partnership between Conquer Cancer^®, the ASCO Foundation, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, and the national cancer cooperative groups. Learn more about Dr. Marshall in this issue of the newsletter.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Marshall and are pleased by her selection for funding by the Winn CILA Award to advance her clinical trials and leadership skills within ECOG-ACRIN,” said Dr. Gary Cohen, who will serve as Dr. Marshall’s mentor at ECOG-ACRIN. “She has already demonstrated remarkable progress as a physician scientist and we expect further rapid career achievement as she participates, develops, and leads clinical trial efforts in her chosen areas of interest.”

Read the March 2024 issue here.