In 2021, the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF), with its partners, National Medical Fellowships and the American Association for Cancer Research, began training the first group of 52 physicians selected for its Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program (BMSF DCTCDP).
The group of early-stage investigators consists of 34 women and 18 men, 70 percent of whom meet the definition of underrepresented in medicine. They are the first of 250 community-oriented clinical trialists who will be trained by 2027.
The BMSF DCTCDP was launched as one of the health equity and diversity and inclusion commitments made in 2020 by the Foundation and its donor, Bristol Myers Squibb. Participants are trained as world-class clinical research scientists with competencies in effective community outreach and engagement. This new generation of investigators will have the potential to transform the clinical research landscape by increasing the diversity of participants.
“Many aspects of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program make it unique,” said Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health. “Its focus on helping clinical trialists become experienced in community engagement research methods is key to developing the trust necessary to realize an increase in clinical trial participation by people of color, yet we have not seen this in any other program of this kind.”