The Arkansas ECHO ISPCTN Site (AREIS) is a member of the IDeA State Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) and was initially funded in 2016 and renewed for an additional five-year prior in May 2021 (UG1OD024945). The primary mission of AREIS is to engage rural children in Arkansas in innovative clinical trial opportunities. AREIS is co-led by Laura James, M.D., and Tamara Perry, M.D. Primary efforts to meet AREIS’ mission include providing research expertise and leadership to the ECHO ISPCTN for the development and implementation of robust clinical trials in high priority disease areas, increasing clinical trials competency and leadership skills among AREIS faculty and staff, and leveraging existing resources to implement state-of-the-art community engagement and community partnership approaches that will enhance the participation of rural children in clinical trials. AREIS works with NIH program staff, other ISPCTN sites, as well as the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) to accomplish these goals. The participation of rural children in trials will enhance the health of Arkansas children for generations to come.
Contacts: Laura James, M.D., at JamesLauraP@uams.edu and Tamara Perry, M.D., at PerryTamaraT@uams.edu.