29 Mar RADIANT: Enhancing Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials
ITHS, in collaboration with the Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment CARE Fund, is proud to announce the RADIANT program. This initiative addresses a critical area of need in oncology research: the lack of diversity among participants of cancer clinical trials.
Purpose
Cancer affects people from all walks of life, yet clinical trials do not fully represent this diversity. This discrepancy between the population that typically participates in clinical trials versus the real-world population can lead to gaps in understanding how treatments work across different groups. The RADIANT program aims to bridge this gap by creating more inclusive research environments at community sites, where many patients with cancer receive their care. During this program, clinical trial teams will complete equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training by attending the Addressing Implicit Bias in Health Care & Research workshop led by our Integrating Special Population (ISP) partners, Dr. Rebecca O’Connor and Kelly Martin. This training will inform the development of an EDI plan to identify and address recruitment and enrollment barriers; sites will be guided by implementation strategies designed to mitigate these challenges. Trial teams will receive input through community feedback sessions along with EDI coaching providing valuable feedback to support these trial teams in refining their approaches. Trial teams will pilot their EDI plan to explore feasibility in contributing to more equitable cancer research practices.
Comprehensive ITHS Support System
ITHS offers full support of this program’s grant development and project execution, with resources from our Research Development Office, the Hub Liaison Team, the Northwest Participant and Clinical Interactions Network, Community Engagement, Integrating Special Populations (ISP), and ITHS Finance and Communications.
Meet the RADIANT Team
Leading the program is Dr. Shaveta Vinayak, a breast oncologist from University of Washington’s (UW) Cancer Vaccine Institute, with co-investigators Dr. Maggie Ramirez, Assistant Professor, from the UW School of Public Health, Dr. Rebecca O’Connor, Associate Professor, from the UW School of Nursing, Kelly Martin, EDI Consultant, from Envision | Impact, Dr. Allison Lambert, Co-Director of the Northwest Participant and Clinical Interactions Network and pulmonologist, from Providence Inland Northwest Health, and community co-investigator Rahel Schwartz, Program Executive-Health Equity, from the YMCA Greater Seattle.
The implementation team is spearheaded by Charlie Gregor, ITHS Manager of the Hub Liaison Team; Laurie Hassell, Director of the ITHS Community Engagement program; Gigi Perez and Dillon van Rensburg, ITHS Research Scientists; Lindsie Boerger, ITHS Project Manager; and Maria Predtechenskaya, ITHS TL1 Trainee.
Project Timeline and Partnerships
Initiated in September 2023, the RADIANT program will continue until Fall 2025. We are excited to announce that Cancer Care Northwest (CCNW) will be the first clinical trial site to pilot this new multi-site program.
