IX. National Meeting of Study Nurses and Clinical Trial Coordinators 2026
Nearly 300 participants, two days of shared experience and a common interest in further developing and improving the quality of clinical research in Czechia. This was the 2026 edition of the National Meeting of Study Nurses and Clinical Trial Coordinators, held on 7–8 September at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University in Brno.
This year's programme focused primarily on topics that clinical research nurses and coordinators encounter in their everyday work. Alongside expert presentations, it featured practical experience from individual centres, real-life situations, opportunities for questions and discussion, as well as topics reflecting the impact of new technologies on clinical research.
ONE PROFESSION, MANY PERSPECTIVES
The very first session highlighted just how varied the role of a clinical trial coordinator can be.
Šárka Selvekerová, Chairwoman of Association of Clinical Trial Coordinators and Research Nurses (ASKAS) reflected on the first year of the professional association ASKAS. In just twelve months, a community has grown to connect 130 active members and, alongside education and experience sharing, is working towards further professionalisation and clearer recognition of the role of clinical trial coordinators and research nurses.
The realities of coordinating studies within a large healthcare institution were presented by Lucie Sýkorová and Kateřina Kovářová, drawing on their experience as clinical trial coordinators at University Hospital Pilsen. A single team coordinates activities across two geographically separate sites, Bory and Lochotín, while managing everything from planned study activities to unplanned visits, urgent sample collection and other time-sensitive requests.
A very different perspective was offered by Martina Havlíčková. Her experience as a freelance clinical trial coordinator highlighted that, alongside the clinical trials themselves, the role also requires independent organisation, deadline management, administration and responsibility for the entire working process.
FROM EVERYDAY WORK WITH MEDICINES TO ADVANCED THERAPIES
Pharmacology and work with investigational medicinal products also formed an important part of the first day.
Lenka Součková, ECRIN European correspondent for Czechia, provided a practical perspective on the pharmacological aspects that can help research nurses and coordinators navigate their everyday work with investigational medicinal products (IMPs). Attention was also given to drug interactions, their potential impact on the course of a study, and the importance of appropriate timing of medicine administration for both patient safety and the quality of the data collected.
She was followed by a presentation from Alice Němcová, Director of the Clinical Trials Department at the State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL), who guided participants through the entire lifecycle of an investigational medicinal product. From delivery and correct storage through dispensing or administration to documentation and safe disposal, the session also addressed the responsibilities of individual members of the study team at each stage of the process.
Participants were introduced to the field of modern personalised medicine by Regina Demlova, Director of the Centre of Excellence CREATIC at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University (CREATIC) and of the Czech National Clinical Research Infrastructure (CZECRIN). In her presentation, she focused on advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), including cell and gene therapies. She explained their principles and the key differences compared with conventional medicinal products. These therapies, sometimes referred to as “living drugs”, open up new possibilities for personalised treatment, while also bringing specific requirements for manufacturing, regulation and implementation in clinical practice.
WHEN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS TAKE CENTRE STAGE
The conference was not built around traditional lectures alone. Block III, dedicated to staged scenarios from coordinators' everyday practice, brought real challenges and decision-making situations from clinical trials directly in front of the audience. The opportunity to see how colleagues at other sites approach the same or similar situations was one of the themes running throughout the meeting.
THE PANDORA'S BOX CALLED ISF
The second conference day opened with a topic familiar to almost every clinical trial coordinator — the Investigator Site File (ISF).
The education working group of ASKAS opened the metaphorical “Pandora’s box” of essential clinical trial documents. Johana Krempová, Simona Chludilová, Michaela Hanáková and Ondřej Bonček provided practical guidance on how to work correctly with the ISF and essential clinical trial documents.
An important part of the session was also an analysis of nearly 300 ISF-related findings from audits and inspections across eight major Czech centres. The discussion therefore drew not only on general principles, but above all on real experience and situations that genuinely arise in practice.
This year's session also offered a preview of a more comprehensive training course on essential clinical trial documents, which ASKAS plans to introduce in 2027.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IS NO LONGER JUST A QUESTION FOR THE FUTURE
One of the most topical parts of this year's programme was the session dedicated to the digitalisation of clinical trials and artificial intelligence.
Richard Bobek, Associate Director at MSD Czech Republic, demonstrated where AI can support work with data, identify risk signals and highlight areas requiring more detailed review.
Yet the boundaries of new technologies are just as important as the opportunities they offer. Petr Hummel, Associate Director at MSD Czech Republic, therefore addressed questions of security, the protection of confidential and patient information, GDPR, compliance and the responsibility of everyone using AI tools.
Digitalisation was explored from another perspective by Martin Dušek, Lead Compliance Specialist at Johnson & Johnson, who shared the sponsor's view and early experience of monitoring in an electronic health record environment. Data integrity, audit trails, access management and the availability of source data are not merely technical concepts: they directly affect the everyday work of study teams and the quality of clinical trials.
A FINAL TOPIC WITH SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
After two days packed with expert content, the conference was brought to a close by Lukáš Havránek, a lecturer at the GrowJOB Institute, with a session dedicated to effective planning.
Managing priorities, time and the sheer volume of everyday tasks is something that connects coordinators across different institutions, regardless of the type of study or the size of the centre.
In this way, the programme ended with a reminder that behind processes, documentation, data and technologies are, above all, people.
THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OFTEN HAPPEN BETWEEN SESSIONS
The conference covered a wide range of expert topics, but its value was not limited to what was presented on stage.
It was also found in questions from the audience, conversations during breaks, the sharing of practical experience and the opportunity to discover that colleagues across the Czech Republic often face very similar challenges.
Seeing nearly 300 people in one place, united by a shared interest in continued learning, experience sharing and improving the quality of clinical research, is one of the clearest reminders of why meetings like this matter.
The organisers thank all speakers for openly sharing their experience, all participants for their active involvement, and everyone who contributed to the preparation of this year's meeting and who, through their involvement, continues to contribute to the further development and improvement of clinical research quality.
