Welcome to ECHO TRIALS Face-to-Face Meeting

November 12, 2026 – November 13, 2026

Crystal Gateway Marriott

1700 Richmond Highway Arlington, VA 22202

For Conference Objectives please click here.

Agenda

November 12, 2026

7:30am - 8:15am

Breakfast & Meeting Registration

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

8:15am - 8:30am

Introductory Remarks

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Establish a shared understanding of the meeting's priorities and intended outcomes.

Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
Meeting Co-Chair
Vermont

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

8:30am - 8:45am

Welcome from the NIH

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Align grantees around ECHO’s vision and priorities for ECHO Trials and identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration, research excellence, and network impact.

Erin Leutkemeier
Acting Director and Chief of Staff
ECHO, National Institutes of Health

8:45am - 9:00am

Q&A with NIH

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

9:05am - 10:05am

Building Capacity: Site Connections

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Identify potential collaborators and mentors and strengthen connections across sites

Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
Meeting Co-Chair
Vermont

10:20am - 10:45am

State of the Network

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Assess network progress and identify opportunities to strengthen trial readiness, implementation, and network capacity

Rusty McCulloh
Heartland DCOC
University of Nebraska Medical Center

10:45am - 10:55am

Q&A with Heartland DCOC

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
Meeting Co-Chair
Vermont

11:00am - 11:40am

Keynote: Dr. Daniel Benjamin, Jr.

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Identify insights relevant to the network's efforts to conduct rigorous pediatric trials

Danny Benjamin
Chair
NICHD Pediatric Trials Network

11:40am - 11:55am

Q&A with Dr. Benjamin

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

12:00pm - 12:45pm

Lunch

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

12:50pm - 1:50pm

Brief Concept Proposal Flash Talks

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Review emerging network research concepts

2:00pm - 2:45pm

Building Capacity: Site Connections

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Identify effective recruitment approaches, explore site-level challenges and opportunities, and collaboratively develop strategies to strengthen recruitment across PhITT sites

Thao-Ly Phan-Vo
Delaware
Nemours Children's Health, Thomas Jefferson

Daniel Hsia
Louisiana
Emory University

Alberta Kong
New Mexico
University of New Mexico

Aubrey VanStory
Heartland DCOC
University of Nebraska Medical Center

3:00pm - 3:55pm

Mock Study Session: Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Clinical Trial Conduct

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Recognize common conduct and documentation challenges and apply practices that support participant protection, protocol adherence, and data quality

Jaime Phalp
Heartland DCOC
University of Kansas Medical Center

Annie Fors
Heartland DCOC
University of Kansas Medical Center

4:15pm - 5:15pm

Early-Stage Investigator Breakout

National Landing I
Identify Resources, connections, and practical next steps that support investigator development

Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
Meeting Co-Chair
Vermont

4:15pm - 5:15pm

Research Coordinator Breakout

National Landing II
Share effective practices, identify common operational challenges, and strengthen peer support

Christa Friedrich
South Dakota
Avera Research Institute

4:15pm - 5:15pm

Steering Committee

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Identify actions and recommendations to guide network activities

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

5:15pm - 6:30pm

Networking Reception

Skyview

November 13, 2026

7:30am - 8:30am

Breakfast

National Landing Foyer

7:45am - 8:40am

Chun Pod Breakout

National Landing I
Excchange practical solutions and identify issues and actions to bring to the network discussion

Thomas Chun
Rhode Island
Brown University

7:45am - 8:40am

Devlin Pod Breakout

National Landing II
Exchange practical solutions and identify issues and actions to bring to the network ediscussion

Lori Devlin
Kentucky
University of Louisville

7:45am - 8:40am

Young Pod Breakout

National Landing III
Exchange practical solutions and identify issues and actions to bring to the network discussion

Leslie Young
Vermont
University of Vermont

8:45am - 9:00am

Introductory Remarks

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Review the key themes from Day 1 and the goals, agenda, and priorities for Day 2

Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
Meeting Co-Chair
Vermont

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

9:00am - 9:30am

Pod Dicussion Forum

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Share key themes and recommendations from the pod breakouts

9:35am - 10:20am

ECHO Cohort and ECHO Trials Collaboration

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Increase understanding of the ECHO Cohort and use a tabletop exercise to explore how collaboration could strengthen ECHO Trials and be integrated into existing ECHO infrastructure

Jody Ganiban
ECHO Cohort
George Washington University

Amy Elliott
South Dakota
Avera Research Institute

10:35am - 11:30am

Clinical Trial Budget Development

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Identify required study activities and associated costs, develop realistic budget assumptions, and align resources with protocol and site requirements

Dani Alexander
Heartland DCOC
University of Kansas Medical Center

Monica Strathman
Heartland DCOC
University of Kansas Medical Center

11:35am - 12:05pm

What PRC Review Taught Us: Strengthening the NOURISH Trial

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Summarize the strengths and key concerns from the NOURISH Protocol Review Committee review, apply lessons from the review to developing future network protocols, and identify early steps sites can take to prepare for potential future implementation

Jeanie Tryggestad
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Thao-Ly Phan-Vo
Delaware
Nemours Children's Health

12:10pm - 1:20pm

Lunch

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C

12:30pm - 1:20pm

Airways Working Group

National Landing I
Discuss research priorities and study concepts related to pediatric airways health

John Carlson
Louisiana
Ochsner Health System

Abigail Strang
Delaware
Nemours Children's Health

12:30pm - 1:20pm

Neurodevelopment Working Group

National Landing II Discuss research priorities and study concepts related to pediatric neurodevelopment

Emily Hall
Montana
University of Montana

Alexa Craig
Maine
MaineHealth

12:30pm - 1:20pm

Obesity Working Group

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Discuss research priorities and study concepts related to pediatric obesity prevention and treatment

Jeanie Tryggestad
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Katie Queen
Louisiana
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

12:30pm - 1:20pm

Positive Health Working Group

National Landing III
Discuss research priorities and study concepts related to pediatric positive health

Delma-Jean Watts
Rhode Island
Brown University

Andras Bratincsak
Hawai'i
Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children

12:30pm - 1:20pm

PPP Working Group

National Landing IV
Discuss research priorities and study concepts related to pre-natal, peri-natal, and post-natal child health

Lori Devlin
Kentucky
University of Louisville

Kate MacMillan
New Hampshire
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

1:30pm - 1:55pm

Outcome Working Group Discussion Forum

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Share working group priorities, proposed activities, and requests for network input

Alexa Craig
Maine
MainHealth

1:55pm - 2:00pm

Closing Remarks

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Review key meeting outcomes and establish share expectations for actions following the meeting

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair

2:15pm - 3:00pm

Leadership Committee (Closed Session)

Grand Ballroom Salon A-C
Review issues requiring leadership discussion and coordination, clarify decisions, responsible parties, and follow-up actions

Carol Blaisdell
Meeting Co-Chair