Event agenda

Registration & Coffee

Opening Keynote: Redefining Monitoring – The Future of Clinical Monitoring in an AI-Enabled World

What sponsors want from CRAs: expectations, green flags, and what makes a monitor truly stand out

Sponsors invest heavily in monitoring, but what do they really look for in a CRA? Drawing on sponsor-side experience, Leandro reveals the behaviours, mindset, and communication habits that set great monitors apart, build trust, and help flag risks early.

From Site Selection to First Patient: How CRAs and SSU Teams Can Work Better Together

Study start-up and monitoring are closely linked, yet the SSU–CRA handover often causes delays and miscommunication. Laura shares an inside look at SSU-CRA work, and how better collaboration can improve site selection and speed to first patient in.

Coffee Break & Networking

The CRA Role in 2026: Are We Ready for What's Next?

As clinical trials evolve, so does the CRA role. In this panel, senior clinical operations leaders discuss how oversight, expectations, and required competencies are changing—and whether CRAs are ready for what comes next.

The CRA Mindset Shift: From Monitoring Details to Recognizing Patterns Across the Study

ICH E6(R3) asks CRAs to think differently. This session explores the shift from checking isolated findings to true oversight: recognize patterns, understand study-wide impact, and focus attention where it matters for patient safety and data integrity.

The CRA of Tomorrow: How ICON Is Redefining the Role of the Site Expert

The CRA role is shifting — from traditional monitoring to holistic site expertise. Nacho Solans Serrat shares ICON's vision for what this means for how CRAs are hired, developed, and evaluated today.

Lunch Break

Beyond SDV: The Soft Skills That Define Great CRAs

SDV alone is no longer enough. In this panel, we discuss the soft skills now central to effective monitoring—critical thinking, proactive site support, and managing complexity—helping CRAs move beyond data review to deliver real oversight and value.

AI Tech vs Human Insight: Can They Coexist in Monitoring

As technology becomes central to monitoring, CRAs must balance digital tools with human judgment. In this panel, we discuss where tools add value, where human insight remains essential, and how CRAs can use technology without losing oversight or context.

Prevent, Detect, Respond: Mastering Risk and Integrity in Clinical Trials

Traditional monitoring is no longer enough. This session challenges how CRAs think about risk — from anticipating weak signals early, to responding decisively when serious breaches, misconduct, or fraud occur. Own your role in trial integrity.

Coffee Break

The Hidden Cost of Being a CRA: Burnout, Balance & Emotional Reality

Monitoring visits, data quality — but what about the people doing the work? This panel opens the conversation on CRA burnout, work-life balance in a travel-heavy role, and the emotional reality nobody talks about out loud.

Decentralized Clinical Trials: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities in Supporting Investigators and Patients

DCTs are reshaping clinical research — but what does this mean for CRAs? Cristina Florescu Moraid explores the opportunities and challenges of decentralised trials and how monitors can strengthen their role in this evolving landscape.

Day 1 Closing Remarks

Meet & Mingle over drinks

Coffee & Welcome

Designing a CRA Career

Pressure, unclear expectations, normalised burnout — sound familiar? With a decade of global clinical recruitment experience, Theo helps CRAs take an intentional approach to career progression, interviews, and finding the right role at the right moment.

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

49% of sites haven't crossed the digital chasm. 64% of sponsor tech duplicates workflows. CRAs are drowning in complexity. This session explores how AI-first trial operations help sites cross the chasm — moving monitors from reactive to predictive.

Monitoring in the Time of RBQM – Cross-Functionally Delivering Patient Safety & Data Integrity

Monitoring has transformed from a solo, on-site activity to a cross-functional, data-driven operation. So what is the role of the modern CRA — and how do you work effectively alongside Central Monitoring and RBQM?

Coffee Break & Networking

Why CRAs Should Think Like Auditors

What does a GCP auditor actually look for — and how can CRAs use that mindset? This session goes beyond source data verification to explore the critical thinking and quality-first approach that separates a good monitor from a great one.

Career Pathways: From CRA to Clinical Operations Leader

CTA. CRA. Leader. Mushi Dustagheer has lived the full journey — and today she leads entire CRA teams at IQVIA. In this session she shares what 15+ years in clinical research actually looks like, and what it really takes to grow into leadership.

From the Site's Perspective: Building Strong CRA–Site Partnerships

Sites see everything. In this panel, two senior site leaders get candid about what CRAs get right, where relationships break down, and what it actually takes to build the kind of trust that makes trials run better for everyone.

Lunch break

Networking Lounge

Meet fellow CRAs, recruiters, and industry peers in 15-minute 1:1 meetings. Book in advance, get your table assignment, and arrive on time for focused, meaningful conversations.

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

The industry is shifting — and the CRA role is shifting with it. Arielle Valette closes the conference with a forward look at what's coming, what it means for your daily practice, and why the future of clinical research has a place for you in it.

Conference Closing Remarks & Wrap-Up