The Alliance Retreat Highlights Year 1 Progress and Year 2 Priorities
Annual Retreat 2026 | May 7 | The Royal Sonesta San Juan
On May 7, 2026, The Alliance for Clinical and Translational Research held its Annual Retreat, bringing together leadership, core teams, institutional partners, and External Advisory Committee members to reflect on Year 1 accomplishments and align priorities for the next phase of the program.
The Retreat opened with welcome messages from Alliance leadership and institutional representatives, including Dr. Omar Khan, Chair of the External Advisory Committee; Dr. Annabell Segarra, Dean for Research at UPR Medical Sciences Campus; Dr. Pedro Santiago, Program Director at Ponce Health Sciences University; and Dr. Diana Fernández, Program Director at Universidad Central del Caribe.
The Alliance also welcomed External Advisory Committee members who traveled to Puerto Rico to participate in the Retreat: Dr. James Padbury, Dr. Shawn Murphy, Dr. Omar Khan, and Dr. Sally Hodder. Their presence and guidance contributed to meaningful conversations around priorities, sustainability, collaboration, and the future direction of The Alliance.
A special moment of recognition was dedicated to Adelma Rivera in grateful appreciation of 30 years of service to the research program.
Dr. Evangelia Morou presented an overview of The Alliance’s progress from August 2025 to April 2026, highlighting major accomplishments such as support for 216 investigators, 171 studies, more than 30 training activities, and over 523 training attendees. Updates also included the development of the first saliva biorepository in the Caribbean, expansion of the Alliance Clinical Research Data Warehouse, and continued growth of investigator support programs.
Dr. Valerie Wojna provided important NIH policy updates, emphasizing compliance with new requirements related to domestic-only research, research security training, prior approvals, press releases, and open access publications.
Throughout the day, core teams presented their Year 2 signature projects and participated in strategic planning discussions focused on strengthening collaboration, sustainability, community engagement, and research impact across Puerto Rico.
The event concluded with a renewed commitment to advancing clinical and translational research infrastructure, expanding partnerships, and supporting research that responds to the health priorities of communities in Puerto Rico and beyond.
