Community-Engaged Research Takes Center Stage at ACTS 2026

5 days ago | Jasmine Souers | @jasminesouers

The annual meeting of the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 20-23, 2026. It was an opportunity for investigators and community from around the country to explore the theme of “Building Trustworthy Translation: Rigor, Reproducibility and Real-world Impact” during scientific sessions, networking and collaborations.

“Our work is strongest when it starts with the communities we serve,” said Doug Murrell, Administrator for Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science Community Engagement. “At the 2026 ACTS Translational Science conference, our team shared five posters that reflect how community partnerships, trust, and lived experience help shape better research. Being part of ACTS allows us to learn alongside communities and institutions nationwide and bring those insights home to strengthen how we work together across Arizona, Florida, and the Midwest.”

The number of posters accepted for the conference demonstrates the breadth and depth of community-engaged research at Mayo Clinic and shared important learnings with the broader translational science community. The titles and brief descriptions of the posters are:

Developing, Aligning, and Implementing Community Advisory Boards to Reflect Research and Community Health Needs Across Mayo Clinic

Four separate community advisory boards (CABs) each reflect the uniqueness of the communities they represent. Bringing those separate bodies into a more uniform structure allows for broader learnings to emerge and more comprehensive dissemination to take place. This, in turn, strengthens the efforts of each of the individual CABs.

Intramural Awards to Address Community Health Needs through Community-Engaged Research: Description of an 11-year Program Development, Implementation, and Impact

The Community Health Assessment and Improvement Measures Program (CHAMP) Awards have been given to over twenty investigators since the program’s inception in 2014. This poster looked at the impact the awards have had on scholarship and contributions to the field.

Evaluating Community Engagement Studios 2.0: Insights from Applying an Implementation Framework

CE Studios provide structured feedback between community and researchers. The poster reported on an analysis of 52 sessions to understand what is working and what can continue to be improved in the program that is designed to align research with community needs.

Implementing a Community Scientist Program to Increase Community Engagement and Voice in Research

The Community Scientist (CS) Program was developed as a structured, experiential model designed to build research literacy and prepare community members for active partnership alongside investigators. The poster describes how the program was built at Mayo Clinic and what some of the preliminary results have been.

Strengthening Translational Science Through Research Shared Services: Mayo Clinic’s Enterprise Model of Engagement

Clinical and Translational Science activities take place at centers across the United States. Mayo Clinic is the only institution that has activities in three distinct geographies – Arizona, Florida and the Midwest. This strength has been leveraged by providing services and expertise to investigators across the enterprise.

In addition to the posters and networking at ACTS this year, a recent article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings outlines many of the integrated programs and services that are a hallmark of Mayo Clinic’s community outreach and engagement across Mayo Clinic enterprise.

As the presence at the conference and the recent publication show, the Community Engaged Research activities in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science connect and support research activities of key stakeholders internally and externally. This helps to develop, strengthen, implement and disseminate vital information that impacts community health.