Thread by @SfPRocur

After a morning of treating cells and prepping experiments, let's talk about why it's important to for basic research scientists to work with patient advocates!

First, a definition for "patient advocate" - I use "people who have been diagnosed with any cancer type and those who support them" (which includes caregiver advocates).

Why should basic research scientists work with patient advocates?

Patient advocates and researchers share a common goal: curing cancer – by consulting patient advocates, scientists can ensure their research realistically works towards this goal.

And some research on this:
“By translating what we learn of the research back to the patients we serve, we help them to make better, more informed treatment decisions.”
from Mayer, 2011 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

“With a strong partnership and shared drive, advocates share and amplify research findings and scientific information to patients and the public, bringing awareness to the importance of science.”

Patient advocates can help promote #scicomm!
cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/78/20/…

The last article was written by @GtownAdvocates from @LombardiCancer !! It includes a lot of great information about basic research scientists working with patient advocates.
cc: @jamienholloway @itsnot_pink @GtownAyesha @Wanda_Lucas @SalamoneJ

Since I started working with patient advocates, I have noticed changes in the way I ask questions in my own research as well as which questions I ask. It is easier to remember the nitty gritty details only matter if they ultimately help someone with cancer.

Another important avenue patient advocates can help with is in clinical trial design.

“Advocates try to foster a better understanding of clinical trials and the opportunity they offer for best available care.”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

I personally think we should be facilitating relationships between our trainees (graduate students, postdocs, clinical fellows) with patient advocates during their training.

Building foundations for working with patient advocates early in a scientist’s career will both ensure research is impactful from the beginning and facilitate long-lasting relationships with patient advocates.

Additionally, speaking with patient advocates will give trainees an opportunity to speak about their science to broader audiences to improve #scicomm. Conversely, advocates learn about cutting edge science since trainees are usually the ones performing experiments.