Editorial Perspectives On Patient Recruitment

1. The Industry Talks Access — Fabian Sandoval Builds It 5/1/2026

   Fabian Sandoval is redefining what a clinical research site looks like — building trust through community partnerships, media, and education to improve trial access and awareness long before enrollment begins.

2. The Rise — And Stall — Of Retail Pharmacy Clinical Trials 4/23/2026

   As rumors swirl that Walgreens may be reassessing its clinical trials business, this article explores a broader trend: why major retail pharmacy chains like CVS, Walmart, and Kroger have struggled to make the model work at scale.

3. Clinical Trials Have A Native American Problem 4/14/2026

   Kelsey Powell is working to close a long-standing gap in clinical trials: the lack of participation from Native American communities. Her experience highlights how issues of trust, awareness, and fragmented systems continue to limit access — and what it will take to change that.

4. Wanted: More Women For Clinical Trials 3/13/2026

   A new national survey from UPMC’s Center for Connected Medicine examines why women remain underrepresented in clinical trials. The research highlights key barriers such as fear of side effects, time and travel burdens, and limited awareness about how trials work. In a conversation with UPMC’s Nicole Ansani, we explore what sites and sponsors can do to make trials more accessible and appealing to women.

5. Why Africa Could Be The Next Frontier For Clinical Trials 3/6/2026

   Africa hosts only about 3% of global clinical trials despite representing roughly 20% of the world’s population. Tariro Makadzange, founder and CEO of the Africa Clinical Research Network (ACRN), explains how the organization aims to build a continent-wide clinical trial platform and increase that share to 15% over the next decade.

6. How Keenova Reignited A Stalled Trial 3/3/2026

   When a difficult-to-enroll Phase 3 study stalled, Keenova found momentum not through new technology but through relationships, collaboration, and fair site support. By listening to site feedback, rethinking communication, empowering peer learning, and revisiting compensation, the team transformed engagement and enrollment. 

7. AI Trial Matching Comes Of Age At City Of Hope 2/19/2026

   City of Hope has embedded an internally trained AI platform into oncology care and research workflows, helping clinicians summarize complex patient histories and match patients to clinical trials in real time. By reducing manual review and accelerating feasibility assessments across its national network, the system is improving trial access, easing clinician workload, and shifting more time back to patient care.

8. Informed Consent Isn't Broken — But It's Barely Working 2/9/2026

   Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf has been blunt about what’s wrong with informed consent in clinical trials. In this article, we offer a high-level look at his three-part Substack series, exploring how consent became more about legal protection than patient understanding — and what needs to change.

9. When Clinical Trials Don't Stop For War 1/23/2026

   When war halted clinical trials in Ukraine, sites adapted instead of shutting down. Dr. Anna Titkova explains how patients, investigators, and sponsors kept research moving when conditions were anything but stable.

10. The Case For Research-Naive PIs 1/9/2026

    Carrie Lewis, executive director, clinical program optimization, at Keenova (formerly Endo) explains why research-naive PIs may improve trial quality, challenge assumptions about ROI, and help fix a shrinking investigator pipeline.