Monday, October 20, 2025 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The Lodge Skaneateles, 4355 State Street Rd, Skaneateles Falls, NY
Agenda
8:00 a.m. Sign in/Welcome & Intro
8:30-9:30 a.m. What to Do When Everything Goes Wrong
What would you do if it was suddenly your responsibility to run research at your institution? Not just the basics, but all aspects of running clinical trials. This is exactly what happened to me and I wanted to create a presentation to both help and prepare fellow research coordinators should they ever find themselves in this situation. This talk will cover my story and how I overcame the obstacles of learning to run research at my site from top to bottom.
Speaker: Laura Mowers, MS, CCRP, SJH Cardiology Associates
9:30-9:45 a.m. Beverage Break
10:00-11:00 a.m. The Future is Paperless: Harnessing eSource to Accelerate Clinical Trials
Clinical research still lags behind standard care in adopting paperless solutions, but sites are changing that with eSource. For sites, eSource streamlines data capture at the point of care, slashes protocol deviations, eases admin burden, and ensures PI oversight. Sponsors are now catching up, recognizing that Centralized eSource delivers remote monitoring, real-time visibility, faster timelines, and higher data quality.
Speaker: Stefanie Palmer, Director of Business Operations, CRIO
11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. Exploring the Demand for Clinical Trials in Rural Communities
This presentation examines the evolving demand for clinical research participation in rural communities, using St. Lawrence Health’s Clinical and Rural Health Research Department as an example. When the department faced challenges enrolling participants, a revitalized community survey and a “grassroots approach”, attending local events and testing various engagement strategies, helped uncover insights into what the community wanted. The session highlights which tactics succeeded, which didn’t, and how these findings are shaping a more effective, community-centered clinical research effort in upstate New York. Attendees will gain practical strategies for improving rural research engagement.
Speaker: Autumn Thompson, SLH
12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch and Networking
1:00-2:00 p.m. Developing an RNA Nanoswitch Technology That Enables RNA Therapeutics to Target Specific Tissues. A Journey Through the Rapidly Evolving RNA Drug Market
Professor Tenenbaum is an inventor on over two dozen issued and pending patents and has founded four spinoff companies, including his most recent, sxRNA Technologies, Inc., a company that engineers RNA nanoswitches, enabling RNA therapeutics to become tissue-specific. He will discuss the field of RNA therapeutics, its promise, and pitfalls.
Speaker: Scott Tenenbaum, PhD, Founder/CEO Sx RNA Technologies
2:00-3:00 p.m. Designing a Quality Control Process for Clinical Trial Sites
Designing a quality control process for clinical trial sites requires balancing consistency with flexibility. This session will explore strategies for standardizing workflows across coordinators and studies, transitioning from paper to electronic systems, and implementing effective source data review. I’ll discuss practical tools such as checklists and monitoring frameworks, along with other approaches to strengthen site-level quality control and ensure data integrity.
Speaker: Kristin Stebbins, RN, MSPH, Ichor Clinical
3:00-4:00 p.m. A Curious Spectator’s Observations . . . AI and Clinical Trials: Can I use GPT?
As AI based tools are becoming more abundant, organizations are putting in policies for the extent to which AI, particularly GPT applications, can be used in the workplace. This discussion will look at the push to use GPT and the level of “push-back” that is occurring as well as explore this issue as it relates to clinical trials.
Speaker: Chris LeFeber, CCRC, Clinical Trials Manager Wilmot Cancer Institute - University of Rochester Medical Center
The Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA - www.SOCRA.org) accepts documentation of candidate participation in continuing education programs for re-certification if the program is applicable to clinical research regulations, operations or management, or to the candidate’s clinical research therapeutic area. This program may provide up to 6 hours of continuing education hours. SOCRA continuing education hours to be assessed when agenda is completed
Questions, please email kylie.sands@rochesterregional.org.