Overview

Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder Expert Panel (SEP), now over 40 members strong, includes community members, patients and their families, researchers, medical industry representatives, and health care providers, who share their diverse perspectives, lived experience, and expertise across Tufts CTSI. Panel members are involved in various CTSI activities ranging from training and education to co-developing and co-delivering interventions. The time commitment for members is flexible. The SEP is available to advise researchers, leaders, and community members who wish to advance their research goals.

Mission

The Tufts CTSI Stakeholder Expert Panel (SEP) aims to promote meaningful engagement and collaboration to accelerate the research process from design to dissemination by integrating stakeholders into all aspects of Tufts CTSI.

Who is eligible?

Anyone with an interest in learning more about research and making research more relevant to their community, is eligible to join the SEP, especially patients and community partners with a connection to Tufts.

Interested in joining? Please contact Noelle Weicker.

Stakeholder Expert Panel Services

The SEP can help with:

  • Developing program initiatives in alignment with our broadly-engaged team science vision
  • Improving the participant experience in clinical trials – beginning with recruitment
  • Building and sustaining relationships between communities and researchers
  • Advancing community-prioritized research projects

Stakeholder Expert Panel Activities

  • Clinical Research Coordinator Trainings: SEP members role-play as patients to teach coordinators about informed consent.
  • Compendium review: SEP members provide feedback on recruitment strategies for study teams who need help with recruiting and retaining volunteers for research studies.
  • Conversations with Principal Investigators: SEP members meet with researchers to talk about the results of their projects, and how to share them with the public.
  • Event speakers: SEP members serve as panelists, discussants, and planning partners at events to share their perspectives as community members and research participants.
  • Learning opportunities: SEP members are invited to participate in tours of research labs and other facilities to learn about the research process.
  • Graduate thesis proposal review: SEP members review and provide feedback on students’ stakeholder engagement plans.
  • Grant application review: SEP members review the stakeholder and community engagement sections of applications for Tufts CTSI’s Pilot Studies Program.
  • Researcher Trainings: SEP members help researchers improve their approach to sharing their research results with study participants.
  • Survey/research tool review: SEP members provide feedback on surveys that will be sent to members of the public.
  • Community advisory boards: SEP members serve on various community advisory boards for our community and academic partner.

Contact

Robert Sege, MD, MPH, Co-Director, Community and Stakeholder Engagement

Noelle Weicker, MHS, Project Manager, Community and Stakeholder Engagement