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The James Hosts Second Clinical Trial Concept Workshop in Partnership With AACI
Photo credit: Randy Belice
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James hosted the in-person component of its Clinical Trial Concept in the Oncology Landscape course for the second consecutive year, during the 18th Annual AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Meeting in Rosemont, IL.The 2026 program had 17 participants, all novices in cancer clinical research selected through a competitive, nationwide application process. The application window is now open for the 2027 program.
The hybrid course, known as the idea2Concept Workshop (i2C), teaches oncology fellows, residents, and junior faculty to apply good clinical practice and scientific reasoning in clinical trial design. Participants write a concept or letter of intent that can later develop into a clinical trial at their home institution with the aid of an assigned mentorship team. The course is split into two parts: a nine-month virtual experience covering all areas of cancer clinical research, followed by the Trial Concept Writing Camp held during the AACI CRI meeting. The virtual portion uses a flipped-classroom approach to teach 11 domains of clinical trial expertise: oncology, science, medicine, business and negotiation, accounting, statistics, pharmacy, pharmacology, laws and regulations, ethics, and clinical trial management.
The in-person component allows participants to meet with experienced clinical investigator mentors and statisticians from AACI member institutions as they finalize their clinical trial concepts.
The mentors help participants apply the domains of clinical trial expertise to create realistic concepts that meet scientific standards.
The Next i2C: Apply Now
Applications are currently being accepted for the next workshop. Virtual courses will begin in autumn 2026, with synchronous and asynchronous courses presented monthly by experienced clinician faculty and staff from The Ohio State University and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Renowned clinical trialists from top U.S. cancer centers will lead the in-person component, to be held Monday, June 28–Wednesday, June 30, 2027, at the 19th Annual AACI CRI Meeting in Rosemont, IL.Eligible applicants include junior faculty oncologists with an interest in clinical research, and fellows and residents in an oncology specialty. Applicants must not have served as a principal investigator (PI) on a therapeutic or interventional investigator-initiated trial. Local PIs on pharmaceutical or NCI trials are eligible.
The program is free for junior faculty and fellows in oncology and is funded by the NCI R25 Cancer Research Education Grants Program.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 5:00 pm eastern time on Monday, August 17, or until all slots are filled.