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17-21 March 2012

Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

ESMO is pleased to announce its partnership in a new Middle Eastern Clinical Trials Workshop called Methods in Cancer Research Workshop to be held in Saudi Arabia. The workshop is organized in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, the King Abdullah International Center for Medical Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and ESMO. ESMO supports regional clinical trials workshops to achieve its strategic goal of enhancing research in oncology by enabling young researchers to learn from top international experts how to design effective therapeutic clinical trials.

Target audience

• Practitioners with a cancer-related subspecialty (e.g. Medical Oncology, Hemato-oncology, Clinical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pediatric Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Gynecology Oncology, etc.)
• Applicants with full-time employment at a facility that provides cancer care

Workshop goals

• To enhance cancer research in the Arab Countries through capacity building of well trained investigators.
• To educate participants about the principles of good clinical trial design and provide them with the necessary tools required to conduct trials that are relevant to the region.
• Guide participants to identify various challenges of clinical research and provide advice and education on how to overcome clinical research challenges.

Workshop program

The workshop will have 4 components:

1. Didactic lectures presented by an expert faculty and other guest speakers addressing various aspects of clinical research, including the development and conducting clinical trials, as well as related ethical, administrative and regulatory issues.
2. Small group breakout sessions with up to ten (10) participants and two (2) faculty facilitators. These sessions will allow time for specific discussion on individual proposals.
3. Self-study and work sessions to allow participants to complete the assignments required to be submitted by them as a semi-final draft by the end of fourth day of the workshop in order to receive final feedback on the fifth day.
4. One-on-one sessions aimed at providing specific advice to participants when they meet individually with the workshop faculty.

Application processes 

Applications are now closed.

Selection process

A total of thirty (30) participants will be selected on a competitive basis through an evaluation of submitted concepts and other supporting documents.

All applications will be judged by a Scientific Committee which will review and accept applications. The Scientific Committee will base its decisions on the quality of the proposed research protocol (innovation, relevance, and applicability) and on the level of commitment by the applicant and their home institute sponsor (Program Supervisor or Department Head).

Submitted documents will be scrutinized both for the information they supply about the candidate, the assurances they provide about the participation of the candidate, and the support for the proposed research project from the home institute.

Selected participants should come prepared to develop the clinical research concept submitted with their application into a complete clinical trial protocol during the course of the workshop. Participants should bring their institution’s protocol and informed consent templates if available, plus a draft of the background section of their protocol. A background literature review is required as preparation for the workshop. Participants must also bring a laptop computer to the workshop to facilitate their completion of the daily assignments.

Unsuccessful applicants will be encouraged to re-apply the following year.

Course fee and grants

The workshop organizers will cover all related expenses including travel, transportation, lodging, food and program materials for the applicants selected.

ESMO Faculty Members

Christian Dittrich, Austria, ESMO Scientific Committee Member
Jean-Yves Douillard, France, ESMO Faculty Member

Evaluation process

The workshop goal is to enhance the participants’ career development, particularly in research but also in scholarly work in general. The outcome of the project will be evaluated using the following assessment tools:

• Applicant's assessment of the workshop impact
• Outcome of the workshop protocol
• Additional protocols developed by the alumni
• Career advancement data
• Publication history

Other Organizers include: the Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, USA