EL PASO, TX – The Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation is excited to announce the launch of its Clinical Trial Academy Program and invites community-based outpatient healthcare clinics, physicians, healthcare professionals, students, job/career seekers, and military veterans to apply to the new program.

Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb’s Organization for Latino Achievement (OLA), an employee resource group, and in partnership with the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), the MCA’s Clinical Trial Academy program aims to grow the region’s clinical research workforce and the number of investigator sites conducting clinical research in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“This program is truly a game-changer for our region,” says Michaele Linden Johnson, Director Clinical Trials and Business Development at the MCA Foundation. “Increasing access to clinical trials and growing our talent pipeline will not only help us address global healthcare disparities, but it will also help our region pivot from being a passive recipient of health products to an active influencer of healthcare.”

The Clinical Trial Academy is looking for people to participate in clinical research through one of three avenues: signing up as a clinical trial site, becoming a clinical trial investigator, and training to become a clinical research coordinator (CRC). This is a rare opportunity to receive training and support at no cost to the clinic, physician or CRC candidate. Physician investigators and healthcare clinics that offer clinical research as a care option to patients will benefit from a growing practice and improved quality outcomes, reputation, and reimbursement rates. Likewise, CRCs will benefit from a life science career with good job prospects, excellent wages, meaningful work, and many advancement opportunities upon completing their training.

“The global clinical trials market size was estimated at $44.3 billion in 2020, and our community would benefit greatly from participating in this exciting industry in a real way,” explained Emma W. Schwartz, President of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation. “The MCA Clinical Trials Academy – free to participants– will reduce the barriers to entry for our medical community to get engaged, expanding opportunities for medical practices to grow while providing cutting edge clinical research as a care option to our region’s patients and increasing diversity in trials. This is a rare opportunity and win for everyone.”

Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2021, and training begins November 15, 2021. To learn more about the Clinical Trial Academy or to apply, visit mcamericas.org/clinical-trials/academy.