AGENDA

Welcome & Coffee

Designing a CRA career

CRAs sit at the centre of trial delivery, yet many are navigating their careers under increasing pressure, unclear expectations, and a culture that often normalises burnout. This session is designed to help CRAs take a more intentional approach to career progression. Drawing on over a decade of global clinical recruitment experience, Theodora will explore how to interview for success, build effective and transparent relationships with recruiters, and identify the right CRA role at the right moment in one’s career. Attendees will gain practical insight into assessing workload, travel, support structures, and cultural fit during interviews, recognising red flags and green flags in roles and organisations, and understanding different CRA career trajectories, including non-linear and specialist paths. The session reframes success not as endurance, but as sustainability, impact, and longevity, supporting both individual CRAs and the future of clinical research.

Crossing the Digital Chasm: How AI-First Trial Operations Deliver Transformative Value to CRAs

The 2026 State of Clinical Trial Technology reveals that CRAs face unprecedented challenges managing increasingly complex technology stacks while also managing paper and email workflows at the 49% of sites that have not crossed the digital adoption chasm. Sites also report that 64% of sponsor-provided technology duplicates their workflows, meaning more processes and systems for monitors to learn and understand in order to ensure quality and compliance at sites. This session explores how AI-first trial operations platforms will help sites cross the chasm, enabling CRAs to focus on high-value activities, moving from reactive monitoring to predictive operations and reducing operational friction.

Coffee Break & Networking

Monitoring in the time of RBQM – cross functionally delivering patient safety and data integrity

The regulations and methodology of monitoring have transformed from being exclusively on site and conducted by CRAs to a cross functional, data and signal driven, harmonised activity. With central monitoring, data management, medical monitoring, and other functions all supporting monitoring activity, what is the role of the modern CRA and how can CRAs best work with Central Monitoring and RBQM to be most effective?

From the site’s perspective: Building strong CRA–Site partnerships

The relationship between CRAs and sites is critical to trial quality, timelines, and patient experience. In this panel, two senior site leaders share what truly makes CRA–site collaboration work, where relationships most often break down, and what CRAs can do to build trust, clarity, and long-term partnerships with sites.

Lunch Break

Networking Lounge

The best opportunities rarely happen by chance, they happen by design. This dedicated 2.5-hour networking lounge gives you structured time to connect with the people who matter most to your goals. Pre-book 1:1 meetings with fellow CRAs, speakers, recruiters, sponsors, technology providers, or industry peers. Whether you're seeking solutions to monitoring challenges, looking for collaboration or mentorship opportunities, or building relationships that will shape your next chapter—this is where intentional networking happens.

Closing Keynote: What the Future of the Industry Holds for CRAs

This closing keynote looks toward the near future of clinical trials and the CRA role. Arielle Valette shares insights on upcoming shifts in the industry, how they will shape daily practice, and what CRAs can look forward to as the role continues to grow in impact and relevance.