This week, we listen to Conor Grennan as he explains why we should all ditch our trusty AI prompt libraries and just talk to AI like a person instead. We read the latest Open Pharma quarterly update and highlight a call to improve clinical trial registries by allowing users to filter for studies designed with patients. We learn about the RSC’s pivot away from 100% OA, review the latest meeting report from the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, and learn about how the interoperability of ORCID allows global collaboration. Finally, we review the results of the DANCE initiative’s exploration of decentralized clinical trials as a mechanism to facilitate patient participation in research.
To listen to:
Ditch prompt libraries and talk to AI like a person via ISMPP | 17-minute listen
“…the best thing we can possibly do is just talk to it [artificial intelligence] like a person” says Conor Grennan (Chief AI Architect at New York University Stern School of Business) in this conversation with Rob Matheis (President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals [ISMPP]) for the In Plain Cite podcast. Listen along as Conor and Rob discuss why context is everything and why you already have the skills required to prompt large language models.
To read:
What has Open Pharma been up to?! via Open Pharma | 3-minute read
Lots, as it turns out! Read the latest Open Pharma quarterly update to learn more about the research projects we kicked off in April, our attendance at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) and the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) Spring Conference, and our plans for the next quarter.
Clinical trial registries should be searchable for patient involvement via Journal of Participatory Medicine | 14-minute read
When the Woolley family was faced with their latest serious cancer diagnosis, they took to clinical trial registries to look for ways that they could participate in research. They soon realized that searching for trials designed with patients was impossible; none of the World Health Organization primary registries or registries managed by the top 10 global pharma companies allowed users to filter results for patient involvement in trial design. This article serves as a call to action for the clinical trial community to enhance “clinical trial registries to enable patients to (1) search for clinical trials designed with patients and (2) find information on how patients were involved”.
RSC abandons 100% OA for ‘regionally tailored approaches’ via RSC | 5-minute read
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has announced that it is no longer aiming to achieve “a universal transition to 100% open access [OA] by 2028”, instead favouring “regionally tailored approaches … that support diverse pathways to openness”. The Society’s recognition of the diverse needs of its global community will see it embrace myriad OA initiatives and models aligned with the trends and challenges across each region. Read more about the announcement here.
Barcelona to Bologna: report of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information meeting via Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information | 17-minute read
On 28 May 2025, signatories, supporters and parties interested in the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information met in Bologna, Italy, to discuss the future governance, collaboration and global reach of the Declaration. This full report of the hybrid meeting – which was attended by nearly 200 participants from 35 countries – summarizes the key outcomes and highlights of the day’s discussions, including key developments from each of the Declaration’s seven working groups and plans to transition to a more permanent governance structure by the end of 2025.
ORCID – the nexus of PIDs via MoreBrains | 14-minute read
Open Researcher and Contributor iD (ORCID) was launched in 2012 to address name ambiguity in scholarly research through persistent identifiers (PIDs). This whitepaper by Josh Brown (Co-Founder, Research and Strategy at MoreBrains) and Alice Meadows (Co-Founder, Communication and Outreach at MoreBrains) explores three case studies demonstrating how the exemplary interoperability of ORCID allows it to complement other researcher identifiers and enable global collaborations.
DANCE for decentralized clinical trials via Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science | 33-minute read
Chiesi’s Digital innovAtion for patieNt Centric hEalth (DANCE) initiative was launched in 2021 to explore how decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) could facilitate patient participation in research. Through interviews and surveys with over 500 patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals across the USA and Europe, this study found strong support for DCTs, especially as an approach to reducing travel commitments and increasing the diversity of trial populations. The findings underscore the need for hybrid research models that balance remote convenience with human connection, and highlight the importance of trust, flexibility and patient-centric design in future trials.
Enjoy our content? Read last week’s digest and check out our latest quarterly update!
Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn for regular updates!
