Abstract B094: Early impact of a community-oriented clinical trialist training program: The Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Career Development Award

Abstract Introduction and Methods Improving patient participation in clinical trials is essential in order to improve health outcomes and expand access to clinical research. The Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Award Program was developed to address this need. One of its signature programs is the Winn Career Development Award (Winn CDA). Winn CDA is a 2-yr program designed to train and support early-stage investigator physicians in transforming and expanding access to the clinical research landscape. The focus of the program is to develop community-oriented clinical trialists to be experts in clinical trial design and implementation as well as the science and implementation of community outreach and engagement (COE). This 2-year program follows a comprehensive curriculum, starting with an intensive 4.5-day workshop developed in partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research (the Winn-AACR Design and Implementation of Clinical Trials Workshop). The remaining 2 years offer the awardees many opportunities to learn from experts in clinical trials and COE, along with requirements that they put their learnings into practice in active trials at their institution, in designing an independent capstone project, and in engaging with communities and organizations in their catchment area. Results An independent midterm evaluation of the Winn CDA was recently conducted by IQVIA Consulting and REACH Market Research to determine whether it was achieving its goal of improving access to clinical trials. The early results of the evaluation, which was based on 2 completed cohorts of scholars and 1 currently active cohort, indicated that 97% of scholars participated in at least one form of engagement, including joining institutional or community-based programs, promoting clinical trial awareness, or establishing committees focused on community outreach. Additionally, 47% of scholars held leadership roles within community engagement–focused committees, reflecting a strong commitment to advancing inclusive research practices. With respect to clinical trial enrollment, Winn CDA scholars demonstrated higher enrollment of underrepresented populations in clinical trials compared to industry benchmarks. Among trials led by scholars, 63% enrolled more than 25% underrepresented participants, whereas 72% of industry-led trials enrolled fewer than 25%. Across 30 disease areas analyzed, 26 showed higher representation in scholar-led trials relative to national averages. Additionally, when benchmarked against real-world disease epidemiology, enrollment patterns in scholar-led trials were either reflective of or exceeded expected representation of underrepresented populations. Conclusion Results of this evaluation indicate that scholars have demonstrated better recruitment of underrepresented patients in their clinical trials, when compared to industry trials and national averages. While the Winn CDA is a young program, these midterm evaluation results showcase positive early outcomes indicating the effectiveness and potential impact of the program. Citation Format: Megan Becker, Joy L. Jones. Early impact of a community-oriented clinical trialist training program: The Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Career Development Award [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B094.