Professor Chris Lindsell, who leads the ACTIV-6 Data Coordinating Center, was featured in the February 11 issue of the ACTIV-6 Site Newsletter, which is published twice a month by Duke Clinical Research Institute. The interview is republished here with permission.
What is your role on ACTIV-6? I am privileged to lead the Data Coordinating Center. Our team has developed an innovative way of running studies by using the research record like the medical record. The data we collect includes a mix of the information we need to find out what medicines help patients feel better faster, and all of the data needed for real time study information sharing and communications. The partnership with DCRI has allowed us to create a fully integrated system that will continue to get better as we learn from this new way of doing studies.
What activities or hobbies do you enjoy outside of work? I used to play rugby, but then I blew out my knees. Then I used to sail, but there isn’t much water in Nashville. I took up gardening but my brown thumb left me with little hope. For a while, I was a craft beer brewer and home vintner, which also had bad side effects. Pandemic isolation gave me a whole new lease on life and I got to teach myself the guitar while smoking bacon, chicken, salmon, turkey, brisket, cheese, bread, and even vegetables. This year I plan to master the art of pastry (or patience, or both).
Why do you think ACTIV-6 is important? If there is a safe medicine already available that could help people feel better faster from Covid-19, I want to know that, I think that’s important.
What drives and motivates you about working on the ACTIV-6 study? The challenge of finding a way to do research in totally different ways and solving the problem of what medicines help people feel better faster drives me. The passion, dedication, and excellence of the teams that are leading this research motivate me.
