2017 NERDY Training

The 2017 Talk NERDY To Me training was held on Tuesday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. 14 members of the Talk NERDY to Me Advisory Council attended and aided in the training of 16 senior patients and family caregivers with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease, sarcopenia, atrial fibrillation, and chronic pain. The training expanded their influence in aging-related health research and educated them on research advocacy.

The training was highly successful:

• 2 participants became members of the FDA/Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative Patient Engagement Collaborative and the national Alzheimer’s Association Early Stage Committee. One also participated in a clinical trial.
• 1 participant became a patient representative for the FDA.
• 1 participant became a PCORI Patient Ambassador, got the Governor of Pennsylvania to proclaim September as Pain Awareness Month, and worked to get pain clinics aware of American Chronic Pain Association.
• 1 participant became involved with their local Alzheimer’s Association chapter.
• 1 participant got engaged at the local level to teach advocacy to patients and provide educational materials on atrial fibrillation.
• 1 adviser, who also works for a large payer, set up meetings with chief medical directors to discuss how to engage in patient-centered research.

Training resources:

• Advocacy Webinar Slides
• Friends of Cancer Research Online Advocacy Education