What if the traditional site initiation visit isn't the best way to prepare a site for a complex clinical trial? Dr. Kate Trigg joins Steve to discuss why she believes realistic dry runs could prevent operational problems that conventional training misses—and why sites often don't have access to the technology they need to practice before enrolling their first patient.

Drawing on her experience in academic medical center research operations, Kate also explains the hidden costs that study budgets don't adequately cover, how specialization creates new handoff risks, and why a principal investigator's enthusiasm doesn't always translate into operational feasibility. Plus: the phrase she'd ban from study meetings, using AI to defuse angry emails, and the unexpectedly colorful world of sourdough bread.

00:00

Meet Dr. Kate Trigg

01:50

The Hidden Costs of Running a Study

04:07

Is That Really Just the Cost of Doing Business?

05:12

Why Sites Struggle to Negotiate Budgets

06:48

The $20 Study-Meeting Swear Jar

07:40

When “We've Always Done It This Way” Is Valid

09:10

Sleepy Hollow & Spooky Season

10:20

What Specialization Has Cost Clinical Research

13:04

More Handoffs, More Failure Points

14:38

Can Cross-Training Restore the Benefits of Generalists?

17:00

Simulated Participants & Study Startup Dry Runs

19:46

Should Dry Runs Replace SIVs?

21:31

AI, Source Documents & Angry Emails

24:35

When PI Enthusiasm Meets Operational Reality

28:13

Should Site Operations Have Veto Power?

29:06

Sourdough & the Optimization Icebreaker

31:17

Closing