Creative Scientist Workshop
2026-2027 CTSI Creative Scientist Workshop: Reimagining Clinical Research in an AI-enabled World
Where clinicians, data scientists, and AI experts converge to turn tomorrow's boldest ideas into today's research.
Summary
Save the dates! (See below for 2026 and 2027 workshop dates.)
Clinical research is about to change more in the next five years than it has in the last 20. AI will not only speed up what we already do, but it will make entirely new questions askable and open novel areas of clinical research. The researchers who thrive will not be the ones who know the most about AI; they will be the ones who learned to collaborate and communicate across the clinical–computational divide early.
To this end, the University at Buffalo CTSI is hosting its fourth Creative Scientist Workshop entitled Reimagining Clinical Research in an AI-enabled World. The Creative Scientist Workshops advance innovation and creativity in clinical and translational science using an approach that is grounded in the science of creativity and collaboration. The workshops target barriers to translation, engage the CTSA consortium, and disseminate post-workshop results.
This engaging workshop will be a three-part series. Part 1 will bring participants together virtually over two half days to identify opportunities for AI’s potential and its practical use in clinical and translational research and enable fluent collaboration across disciplines. Pre-workshop materials will be curated and provided in advance to build shared context and elicit questions from participants that will inspire Day 1 discussions.
*Agenda topics and order may be adjusted during the workshop
| Day 1: October 20, 2026 | |
| 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. | Welcome |
| 1:30 - 3:05 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
Opportunity identification / intriguing
Identify knowledge gaps |
| 3:05 - 3:20 p.m. | Break |
| 3:20 - 3:50 p.m. | Reports back |
| 3:50 - 4:00 p.m. | Discuss Day 2 |
| 4:00 p.m. | Adjourn |
*Agenda topics and order may be adjusted during the workshop
| Day 2: October 27, 2026 | |
| 1:00 - 1:10 p.m. | Welcome |
| 1:10 - 1:20 p.m. | Day 1 review |
| 1:20 - 2:00 p.m. | Signs ups & breakout sessions
Framing the questions (Round 1) |
| 2:00 - 2:15 p.m. | Reports back |
| 2:15 - 3:10 p.m. | Signs ups & breakout sessions
Framing the questions (Round 2) |
| 3:10 - 3:25 p.m. | Reports back |
| 3:25 - 3:55 p.m. | Synthesize & prioritize
Opportunity prioritization |
| 3:55 - 4:00 p.m. | Final Remarks |
| 4:00 p.m. | Adjourn |
Stay tuned for more information regarding Parts 2 and 3, where inter-CTSA hub relationships and cross-domain collaborations build on AI-enabled solutions and translate them into research projects.
Audience
Individuals with interest or experience in AI-driven Clinical Research from throughout the CTSA network are encouraged to attend. No prior experience with or knowledge of AI is needed.
- Clinicians and clinician-scientists
- Informaticians and AI/ML experts
- Trainees
- Clinical staff, key personnel, and other providers
- Institutional officers, deans, and directors
Timeline
| Part 1 | Day 1: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 Day 2: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET | Virtual Virtual |
| Part 2 | Days 1-2: Spring 2027 | TBD | In Person |
| Part 3 | Day 1: Fall 2027 | TBD | Virtual |
Cost
Part 1 of the workshop will be at no cost.
Parts 2 and 3 of the workshop costs will be determined and will be shared as soon as possible.
For questions, contact CTSI Senior Research Administrator Erin Carnes, MBA.
Let us know you’re interested. (Registration information to follow.)
Past Workshops
Remote Trials: Future or Fiasco?
The University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute collaborated to present a one-day virtual workshop on remote trials on November 9, 2021.
The biennial Creative Scientist Workshops are not standard conferences. The facilitated workshop format employs a creative problem-solving approach now being used by NSF, NIH and NCATS to catalyze scientific innovation. The workshop will include a series of keynote presentations (and Q&A) in the morning followed by small-group, interactive sessions in which content from earlier in the day will be applied to designing and reimagining example trials.
The keynotes and Q&A sessions are open to all registrants. However, because the afternoon sessions will be highly interactive, only a limited number attend the afternoon sessions. Registration materials will be reviewed by the planning committee in late October to select participants for the small-group interactive sessions (based on responses to questions in the registration form and availability to participate in the entire workshop). We particularly encourage registration by active researchers/scholars/administrators affiliated with CTSA institutions and collaborating partners, representatives of funding agencies, and industry experts.
Workshop participants learn state-of-the-art frameworks and approaches, as well as strengths, opportunities, and challenges for remote trial methods, via a series of keynote addresses by speakers from throughout the CTSA network and beyond. In addition, participants “return home” from the virtual event better equipped to develop innovative, collaborative projects and proposals to advance translational science and best practices in the area of remote trial methods.
During the afternoon, participants collaborate with others in small-group, interactive sessions focused on designing and reimagining example trials. The sessions will highlight evidence-base approaches, reveal critical barriers and needs, and provide attendees with opportunities to propose creative solutions for the next generation of observational and clinical trials.
| Time | Title and Presenter | Link to Slides |
| 10:00 AM EST | Welcome Andy Burnett |
| 10:10 AM EST | Remote Clinical Trials: Theory Meets Real World (Slides) Daniel Ford, MD, MPH Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research David M Levine Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University |
| 10:30 AM EST | The Future of Clinical Trials: How Will New Technologies Affect the Lives of Participants? (Slides) Andy Coravos Co-Founder and CEO HumanFirst |
| 10:50 AM EST | A Translational Science Perspective on Remote Trial Methods (Slides) Larry Hawk, PhD Director, UB CTSI Creative Scientist Workshops 20th Century Club Professor, Department of Psychology College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo |
| 11:10 AM EST | Q&A |
| 11:25 AM EST | Break |
| 11:40 AM EST | How Do I Know That My Participant Is Who They Say They Are? Identifying and Preventing Fraud in Remote Trials (Slides) Jennifer Dahne, PhD Co-Director, 2021 Creative Scientist Workshop Co-Director, MUSC Remote and Virtual Clinical Trials Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina |
| 12:00 PM EST | Overcoming the Hope-Evidence Gaps in Behavioral Health Research (Slides) Eric Hekler, PhD Director, Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health University of California San Diego |
| 12:30 PM EST | Inclusive Participation in Remote Trials (Slides) Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, MD Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health |
| 1:00 PM EST | Q&A |
| 1:15 PM EST | Lunch |
| 1:45 PM EST | Small-Group Trial Design - Setup |
| 1:55 PM EST | Small-Group Trial Design - Session 1 |
| 2:40 PM EST | Shared Learnings with Colleagues |
| 3:10 PM EST | Break |
| 3:30 PM EST | Small-Group Trial Design - Session 2 |
| 4:15 PM EST | Shared Learnings with Colleagues |
| 4:45 PM EST | Feedback Survey |
| 4:55 PM EST | Wrap Up |
| 5:00 PM EST | Adjourn |