After 2 years of preliminary investigation by the Clinical Trials Task Force, headed by Shaul Massry, MD, and John Walls, MD, the Commission on Clinical Trials was established in 2021. Chairs are Shaul Massry, MD, of Los Angeles and Dick de Zeeuw, MD, of Groningen (the Netherlands).
The Commission focuses on identification of issues requiring clinical trials, facilitation of clinical trials design, methodology and analysis of data. The educational focus of the Commission is on organizing symposia and training courses on :
- conduct of clinical trials
- statistical analysis of clinical trials and
- evaluation of outcomes
Other purposes are to develop a curriculum for fellowship in clinical trials and training for potential principal investigators, especially from developing countries, in clinical trials.
The members of the Commission are: Drs. Shaul Massry (chair), Dick De Zeeuw (co-chair), John Walls (member Europe), Giuseppe Remuzzi (member Europe), Edmund Lewis (member USA), Joel D. Kopple (member USA), Gavin Becker (member Australia), Ryuichi Kikkawa (member Japan), M.R. Moosa (member Africa), Emmanuel Burdmann (member Latin America), Garabed Eknoyan (NKF), William Keane (NKF), John Kusek (NIH), Denis Fouque (liaison with the Cochrane Groups).
A committee chaired by Dr. Dick de Zeeuw is being set up to develop a curriculum for fellowships in Clinical Trials and Epidemiology. Guidelines and requirements will be set for training programs in this field.
Three additional Committees have been appointed
- A committee to create a registry of current ongoing Clinical Trials throughout the world.
- A committee to develop a list of the priorities for issues that require Clinical Trials.
- A committee to explore and develop appropriate contacts for potential sources of funds for Clinical Trials.
A Symposium on Clinical Trials was held in Buenos Aires (Committee members: Drs. William Keane, John Kusek, Claudio Ponticelli, George Bakris, Denis Fouque). The program consisted of two 2-hour sessions on day 2 and 3 of the Congress.
The last meeting of the Clinical Trials Commission was in Buenos Aires, May 2024.