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SNO Virtual Clinical Trials Scholars Workshop

Thursday, September 30, 2021
Application Deadline has passed.  
Workshop Limited to a Maximum of 48 Participants

 

 

 The Society for Neuro-Oncology is pleased to announce a 1-day virtual Clinical Trials Scholars Workshop on Thursday, September 30, 11am -5pm EST. This is the third time this course will be held for trainees and junior faculty within seven years from first appointment. The workshop in 2021 will address the essentials of effective clinical trial design in the treatment of CNS malignancies and focus on small group mentoring to provide feedback to the scholars. The overall objective is to provide guidance about the design, activation and conduct of clinical trials in neuro-oncology. These trials can span the adult and pediatric population and involve multidisciplinary modalities of treatment as well as non-therapeutic interventions related to biomarkers and quality of life. Participation in the course is through a competitive application process and is open to clinical trainees and junior clinical faculty from all neuro-oncology subspecialties.  SNO membership (Full or Trainee Level) is required. The workshop is free but registration is required. 

Past Participant Testimonials
“Really informative, high-yield, and educational -- Learned so much, not only in hearing feedback and thinking through suggestions for my own protocol concept, but in listening to the interesting discussions for other scholars' concepts. Would highly recommend this course to other junior investigators!”

“I valued the individualized attention to all aspects of my study design, from patient selection and schema, to the statistical analysis.”

Format of the Workshop

After the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the prior two courses, the planning committee has decided to expand the course both to the number of participants as well as to update the format to allow more time for mentorship. Forty-eight participants will be invited to provide a more detailed clinical trials synopsis that will be shared with mentors, including a statistician. This cohort of 48 scholars will have the opportunity to receive feedback both before the actual workshop and at small group sessions for in-person discussion with the mentors. The workshop will immediately precede the 1st Annual Conference on CNS Clinical Trials, a new educational event jointly sponsored by the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Accepted participants will be able to attend this Conference at no charge. Upon completion of the course, all scholars will be provided with a certificate of completion from the Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Educational Goals
  • Upon completion of this course, participants will have an improved understanding of the practical aspects of CNS trials, including:
  • Understanding the fundamentals of good trial design
  • Understanding the scientific, statistical, regulatory, logistical and ethical aspects of CNS trials
  • Integrating correlative studies in CNS trials
  • Mitigating challenges to accrual and overcoming accrual barriers
  • Anticipating the future direction of CNS trials
Application Procedure
The application deadline has passed.  This meeting's process included applicants submitting the following items to the SNO administrative office by June 7, 2021:  
  • Brief clinical trial concept
  • Statement of interest explaining why you wish to participate in this course. 
  • Your personal CV (pdf)
  • Letter of support and feasibility questionnaire from your Program Supervisor or Department Head
Selection of Participants
The Course Directors will review the applications and select 48 scholars based on the statement of interest, protocol concept and the recommendation letter from the Program Supervisor or Department Head. Applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to submit applications.

Participant Expectations

The 48 scholars selected for the workshop will be required to submit a more detailed trial proposal outline prior to the course. All trial proposals will be reviewed by assigned SNO mentors and feedback will be provided to each participant. Some of the submitted proposals may be selected for further discussion at the workshop. Scholars are expected to attend the entirety of the workshop and will be asked to complete a post-course evaluation and follow-up interview to provide feedback to help improve the course. 

Selection Timeline
Applications due: June 7, 2021 
Notifications of acceptance: June 21, 2021
Proposal outlines due: July 19, 2021
SNO Clinical Trials Scholars Workshop: September 30, 2021

Planning Committee

Stephen Bagley, University of Pennsylvania
Susan Chang, University of California, San Francisco
Maryam Fouladi, Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Mustafa Khasraw, Duke University
Annette Molinaro, University of California, San Francisco
Ian Parney, Mayo Clinic
Vinay Puduvalli, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Erik Sulman, NYU Langone Medical Center
Patrick Wen, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute