On the afternoon of January 21, 2026, the first 2026 session of TCM SciBridge for Young Scholars—the academic training program of the ITMCTR under the China Center for Evidence-Based Traditional Chinese Medicine (CCEBTCM)—was successfully held. Prof Ghassan Karam, Project Manager of the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP), was specially invited as the keynote speaker. With the topic of Global Transparency in Clinical Trials, he delivered a high-caliber academic lecture with an international perspective for young scholars and researchers of the center. All research backbones and postgraduate students from the TCM Standards and Evidence-Based Medicine Team attended the event.
Prof Ghassan Karam, Project Manager, WHO ICTRP
Based on a Global Perspective, Interpreting Registration Norms
At the beginning of the lecture, Prof Ghassan elaborated on the organizational structure of WHO ICTRP and its core role in global health governance. He pointed out that clinical trial registration is not only a requirement of ethics and regulations, but also a key measure to ensure the transparency of medical research and reduce publication bias. With the sharp surge in the number of global clinical trials, ensuring the accuracy and accessibility of registered data has become the major challenge at present.
Focusing on Traditional Medicine, Acknowledging China's Contributions
Notably, Prof Ghassan specifically presented the current status of clinical trial registration in the field of traditional medicine in his report. Data shows that there are now more than 27,000 trial records related to traditional medicine worldwide, with China being the largest contributor. This data not only objectively reflects the vigorous development of evidence-based research on TCM, but also highlights China's leading position in advancing the internationalization of traditional medicine. In view of the characteristics of TCM interventions, such as complexity and unique terminology, Prof Ghassan discussed the necessity of data standardization with the scholars present, and encouraged Chinese scholars to actively participate in formulating registration norms adapted to the characteristics of traditional medicine on the basis of abiding by international general principles.
Looking Ahead to Cutting-Edge Technologies, Empowering the Future with AI
When talking about the future planning of ICTRP, Prof Ghassan depicted the application blueprint of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of clinical trial registration. He revealed that the WHO is planning to introduce AI tools to assist the registration process, aiming to automatically verify data quality and optimize retrieval experience through intelligent means, so as to further improve the transparency and sharing efficiency of global clinical trial information. This cutting-edge topic aroused great interest among the audience.
Lively Interactions, Jointly Building an Evidence-Based Future
The interactive session was marked by a warm and lively atmosphere. Young researchers in attendance actively raised questions such as "registration strategies for complex study designs" in combination with their own research practice. Prof Ghassan spoke highly of the professional accomplishments demonstrated by the young scholars and gave detailed answers to each question one by one.
TCM SciBridge for Young Scholars aims to broaden the international perspective of young scholars and enhance their cross-cultural scientific research communication capabilities by building a high-level international academic exchange platform. As the inaugural event of 2026, this lecture has not only deepened the team members' understanding of international clinical trial registration rules, but also laid a solid foundation for the high-quality production and international dissemination of evidence-based evidence for TCM in the future.
