Research Study Group – Patient Advocacy & Scientific Communication

What is patient advocacy? What are effective methods to communicate science to the public? Or write a lay abstract? Join us for a panel discussion on these topics and more. Patty Spears, Scientific Research Manager and Patient Advocacy from the Office of Clinical and Translational Research, will host a group of campus-affiliated patient advocates to talk about patient advocacy and scientific communication to the general public. It will begin with short (5-10 min) lay person presentations from two ITCMS trainees about their research while the patient advocates provide feedback. Patty will then present a short introduction to patient advocacy, and then open a group discussion to talk about writing lay abstracts, how to write a grant to non-profit institutions that require patient advocacy, and how a patient advocate can help researchers.

**Please submit a lay abstract for your current research or one that you have submitted for a fellowship/grant to Patty Spears  by February 12^th (paspears@med.unc.edu)**