Clinical research has a workforce problem—not a shortage of candidates, but a shortage of vision about where to look. The field needs adaptive problem-solvers, professionals with precision under pressure, and people who viscerally understand the patient experience. That talent exists in communities the industry has historically overlooked: people with disabilities and others the world reads as “all adversity, no advantage.”

This session builds an evidence-based case using the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved gene therapy for an inherited retinal disease to show that designing for overlooked populations produces measurable gains in patient engagement, site satisfaction, and retention. New research extends this principle to artificial intelligence-driven patient recruitment. The proof that it works at the human level is that it is already happening inside one of clinical research’s most respected professional organizations. Attendees will leave with a framework that is philosophically compelling and operationally actionable.

CEU: 1.0 ACRP

Speakers:

• Kristin Smedley, Founder, CEO, Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation

• Michael Smedley, Audio Engineer, Walt Disney Imagineering