Any adult Arkansan with experience as a patient is invited to participate in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Patient Scientist Academy starting April 6.
Sponsored by the UAMS Translational Research Institute, the Academy is for those interested in volunteer leadership roles that will help ensure UAMS clinical research programs represent the needs of patients.
The Academy will be held from 10 a.m. – noon each Thursday in April on the main UAMS campus in Little Rock. For details and to RSVP, contact Nicki Spencer, ndspencer@uams.edu, or (501) 526-6629. The training is being offered at no cost to participants.
Participants in the Patient Scientist Academy will interact with UAMS researchers and patient volunteers in small roundtable discussions and other interactive sessions. They will learn:
- How researchers decide what health issues to study
- How research is conducted
- The benefits of research involvement
“The Academy will create a group of knowledgeable patients who can influence research by serving on steering committees, mentoring committees, review committees, research projects, and in other leadership capacities,” said Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., whose research is conducted in partnership with Arkansas communities.
UAMS clinical studies are conducted at UAMS Medical Center and UAMS clinics in Little Rock and its eight Regional Campuses across the state, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.
“The Patient Scientist Academy will explain the research we do at UAMS in a way that is clear to people who are not doctors or researchers,” said Stewart, who leads the Translational Research Institute’s Community Engagement program. “It’s critically important that more people understand what we do because we can’t improve health without their help.”