BIOGRAPHY: Holding a PhD in cellular physiopathology from Université de Bordeaux (France), Dr. Caroline Jose is Researcher at Vitalité Health Network, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Université de Sherbrooke and in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Université de Moncton. By collaborating with patients, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers from the Atlantic provinces, her current research seeks to integrate the lived experience of patients into research to facilitate the knowledge transfer into care. She leads a patient-oriented research program on adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities in Atlantic Canada. Caroline is also one of the Principal Investigator of the CHU Dumont Biobank and a trainer and specialist in Patient Engagement.

Actual research focus area:
-Optimizing access to care for autistic adults
- Innovations in Patient Engagement and Knowledge Transfer in Health research
- Physiopathology of multimorbidity in neurodevelopmental disorders
- Long-term cognitive impacts of COVID-19
- Community inclusion in education and healthcare
- Exclusion of neurologically vulnerable patients in clinical trials and epidemiology studies

What is your interest in clinical trials?
Although clinical trials are the gold standard of health research, they often lack representativeness of important population groups, limiting the generalizability of results and ultimately hindering access to new therapies for already vulnerable groups. My interest in clinical trials lies in developing inclusive methodological approaches that respect the necessary scientific rigor while improving access to potentially life-saving lines of treatment for all those who need it.

Why do you think clinical trials are important?
Before being research protocols, clinical trials are new care options for the patients who take part in them. They save or improve millions of lives every year worldwide, while ensuring access to safe and effective treatments for future patients.

What is your personal philosophy about clinical trial training specifically or mentorship in general?
The lack of equitable representation in clinical trials has significant consequences for health outcomes and access to medical interventions and hinders health equity. Mentoring provides an excellent opportunity to foster the development of the next cohort of clinical trial professionals who will shape a more innovative and inclusive clinical trial landscape, as well as an equitable society. I approach mentoring as a way for trainees to encourage questioning, analysis, and evaluation of any aspect of the clinical trial cycle in order to form reliable and fair judgments and decisions. Alongside theoretical and lecture- based training on clinical trials, trainees will be able to develop their critical thinking skills, learn how to obtain information and advice from patients and caregivers, and defend their ideas and opinions on how to improve equitable access to clinical trials.

FUN FACT: My biography on X (Twitter): Jack of all trade; extravert nerd; cancer and neurodiversity researcher, caregiver and patient; parenthood survivor; my superhero power: Super Resilience.