The Scope of Things

The latest on a trio of pragmatic trials for lung cancer treatment, the implementation of national-scale pharmacogenomic testing, an efficient approach to comparing commonly used intravenous fluids, improving access to gene therapy trials for a progressive heart condition, the landscape for Alzheimer’s disease studies, clinical trials that predict the most effective therapy, and the creation of AI agents for clinical research. Joining the discussion is Bethany Kwan, director of the Dissemination & Implementation Research Core at the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and Heather Smyth, research associate with the Center for Innovative Design and Analysis in the Colorado School of Public Health. They talk about the advancement of pragmatic clinical trials, how they differ from traditional studies, and how to handle the challenges that come with implementing them.    The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.

In this episode of the Scope of Things, host Deborah Borfitz brings you the latest news on AI-recommended precision dosing, organoid drug testing aiding treatment selection for bowel cancer, an AI tool for stratifying lung cancer patients, using HIV drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and the potential value of magic mushrooms to remedy the mood symptoms of Parkinson’s. Blythe Adamson, international head of outcomes research and evidence generation at Flatiron Health, also joins in to discuss groundbreaking work harmonizing patient-level real-world data across four countries to enable multinational oncology research.   News Roundup  CURATE.AI platform  * Article [https://www.clinicalresearchnewsonline.com/news/2025/05/13/ai-platform-could-aid-precision-dosing-for-multiple-conditions] in Clinical Research News  * Study [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41698-025-00835-7] in npj Precision Oncology    FORECAST-2 clinical trial  * News [https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/game-changer-clinical-trial-launches-for-australias-second-deadliest-cancer/] on the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute website  AI tool for sorting cancer patients  * Study [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59092-8#citeas] in Nature Communications   HIV drugs for Alzheimer’s protection  * Study [https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.70180] in Alzheimer’s & Dementia  “Magic mushrooms” for Parkinson’s disease  * Study [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-025-02097-0] in Neuropsychopharmacology  Guest  Blythe Adamson, Ph.D., international head of outcomes research and evidence generation at Flatiron Health [https://flatiron.com/]   * Flatiron Health enabling multinational oncology researh – article [https://www.bio-itworld.com/news/2025/03/18/flatiron-health-enables-patient-level-data-sharing-across-national-borders] in Bio-IT World   Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review to support the show. Join us at Scope Europe on October 14-15 in Barcelona - use code SOT10 for an additional 10% discount.  GUEST BIO  Blythe Adamson, PhD, MPH, Head of Outcomes Research and Evidence Generation, International at Flatiron Health & Founder of Infectious Economics  Dr. Blythe Adamson is the head of international outcomes research and evidence generation at Flatiron Health.    As a visionary senior leader at Flatiron Health, her team pioneered deep learning language models for extraction of clinical details from EHR documents, breaking the limits of what was possible for humans to do alone. Learning from the experience of millions of patients with cancer, they generate evidence of treatment effectiveness and value used by governments around the world. Dr. Adamson co-invented a patented clinical decision-support tool, enabled by machine learning, that is used by cancer clinics to benefit patients.    She holds degrees in microbiology, epidemiology, and pharmaceutical economics with a focus on infectious disease prevention. Dr. Adamson has held roles at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Institute for Disease Modeling, the NIAID HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and Flatiron Health.  The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.

In this episode of the Scope of Things, host Deborah Borfitz brings you the news on a precision medicine initiative in Sweden integrating research with healthcare, newly available cardiometabolic clinical data registries for real world evidence projects, updates to guidelines on the reporting of clinical trials, AI improving the monitoring of movement disorders, and the best-yet biomarker for stroke and dementia risk. Joining the conversation is Briony Swire-Thompson, director of the Psychology of Misinformation Lab at Northeastern University Network Science Institute, to discuss the current misinformation epidemic and how clinical trials and sites can best deal with it.  News Roundup    Precision Omics Initiative Sweden (PROMISE)  * Correspondence [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03631-9] in Nature Medicine   * Article [https://www.clinicalresearchnewsonline.com/news/2025/04/15/vision-set-for-integration-of-research-and-healthcare-in-sweden] in Clinical Research News   Cardiometabolic clinical data registries  * Article [https://www.clinicalresearchnewsonline.com/news/2025/04/10/veradigm-powering-up-research-with-real-world-cardiometabolic-datasets] in Clinical Research News  New CONSORT reporting guidelines   * Article [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2832868] in JAMA  VisionMD for analyzing motor function  * Article [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41531-025-00876-6] in Nature  Best-yet biomarker for stroke and dementia risk  * Article [https://www.diagnosticsworldnews.com/news/2025/04/23/researchers-identify-better-biomarker-for-stroke-and-dementia-risk] in Diagnostics World News   The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.

In this episode of The Scope of Things, host Deborah Borfitz covers the latest news, including setting expectations for Phase II cancer trials, key learnings about dementia from the Nun Study, links between cardiovascular disease and mild cognitive impairment, using aspirin to prevent cancer spread, a clinical trial map to improve study access, and a naturally occurring molecule that rivals Ozempic in its weight loss potential. Deborah also speaks with Ravi Parikh, medical director of data and technology applications shared resource at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, about a novel AI platform he helped develop to translate clinical trial results to real world populations.  News Roundup  Phase 2 cancer drug trials  * Study [https://academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jnci/djaf013/8029621] in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute    Nun Study insights  * Review article [https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.14626] in Alzheimer’s & Dementia   DORIAN GRAY project  * Press release [https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/eu-flagship-project-dorian-gray-to-use-pioneering-ai-and-avatar-technology-to-un#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20DORIAN%20GRAY,be%20used%20for%20cognitive%20enhancement.%22] by the European Society of Cardiology  Aspirin for preventing cancer spread  * Study [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08626-7] in Nature   New clinical trial map   * News announcement [https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/new-clinical-trial-map-launched-eu] on the EMA website  Molecule rivaling Ozempic  * Study [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08683-y] in Nature The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.

In this episode of the Scope of Things, host Deborah Borfitz delivers the latest on an AI-powered trial screening tool that outperforms research staff, a strategy report on ways to boost cancer vaccine work, the continued absence of pregnant women in clinical trials, a program bringing studies directly to people in rural Utah, and efforts to integrate clinical trials into routine patient care in medically underserved areas of Oklahoma. Wes Michael, founder and president of Rare Patient Voice, also joins in to discuss how his company is connecting people undertaking research studies with participants eager to share their insights—and getting paid to do so.  News Roundup   AI clinical trial screening tool  * Research letter [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2830514] in JAMA   Strategy report on cancer vaccines  * Commentary [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-prisms-precision-medicine/article/uk-cancer-vaccine-advance-recognising-and-realising-opportunities/93A2BA6411A49BC057528D272A4B0460#peer-review] in Cambridge Prisms: Precision Medicine   Exclusion of pregnant women from trials  * Article [https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(25)00003-1/abstract] in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology  Bringing cancer care and trials to Utah’s rural residents  * Press release [https://healthcare.utah.edu/huntsmancancerinstitute/press-releases/2025/02/bringing-cancer-care-closer-home-federal-program-expands-treatment-rural-and] on Huntsman Cancer Institute website  Integrating clinical research into primary care  * News [https://inside.ouhsc.edu/news/article/university-of-oklahoma-health-sciences-receives-federal-funding-to-improve-health-care-access-across-the-state] on OU Health Sciences website  Guest  Wes Michael, president and founder of Rare Patient Voice [https://rarepatientvoice.com/]  The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider’s look at clinical research today.