Christina Brennan, MD, MBA, CCRC, FACRP, reflects on how her service to ACRP “has been rich with proud moments,” and on why her outlook for the clinical research profession is one of “cautious optimism, tempered by a realistic understanding of the significant hurdles ahead.”

When we talk about LGBTQ+ rights in today’s political climate, clinical research may not make the top of the list of concerns. In this contributed commentary, Wil Vickroy, MSN, MRA, RN, Director of Clinical Research at the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia, Pa., argues it should. He writes that the research enterprise we all depend on was shaped, in meaningful part, by LGBTQ+ activists—and the work of conducting and joining inclusive research today carries that activism forward.

Of all the “chicken or egg” conundrums inherent in the conduct of clinical research, perhaps the toughest for professionals at study sites to crack concerns which comes first—thoughtful community engagement that leads to robust patient recruitment, or successful patient recruitment that leads to rewarding community engagement. However one chooses to answer the riddle, more than a few presenters at the recent ACRP 2026 gathering in Orlando served up wisdom from the lessons they’ve learned in their research settings about getting recruitment and engagement right.