May 19, 2006

Focus of Clinical Research Day: Changing practices

The challenges involved in bringing new medical treatments and procedures into clinical practice — what is known as the second translational block — will be the focus of the fourth annual MGH Clinical Research Day. The May 25 event will begin with an 8 am welcome by Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH president, and keynote speech "The Cycle of Quality and the Second Translational Block" by Robert Califf, MD, vice chancellor for Clinical Research at Duke University Medical Center, in the O'Keeffe Auditorium.

"Bringing knowledge gained in clinical trials into the practicing physician's office is one of the largest problems in our health care system, affecting both medical research and clinical operations," says William F. Crowley, Jr., MD, founder and director of the MGH Clinical Research Program. "Dr.Califf has run large-scale cardiology trials and deals with this problem on a national basis, so his perspective should be invaluable."

Califf's talk will be followed at 9 am by presentations from the award-winning clinical research teams. Posters from 220 teams will be available for viewing under the Bulfinch Tent from 10 am until 1 pm, and a panel discussion on "Careers in Clinical Research That Change Medical Practice," led by David Blumenthal, MD, director of the MGH Institute for Health Policy, will begin at 11:30 am in the O'Keeffe Auditorium.

"Improving clinical practice is the underlying goal of the safety and quality assurance signature initiatives being pursued at Partners," says Crowley. For more information about Clinical Research Day, contact Gina Gillis at (617) 726-5500 or ggillis@partners.org or visit crnet.mgh.harvard.edu.