MRCT CENTER - Key Persons
Alyssa Panton joined the MRCT Center in the Summer of 2023 as Research Assistant. She is primarily involved in the Center's clinical research data literacy work. Alyssa is very interested in global health ethics, health equity, and human subject protection and education.
Alyssa obtained her Master of Bioethics degree from Harvard Medical School. Her capstone focused on the utilization of decision aids in primary care settings to expand access to oral health care for pediatric patients. Alyssa earned a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Science and a Language Citation in Twi from Harvard.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Student Researcher
Ava Glazier is a Student Researcher at the MRCT Center. Ava joined the MRCT Center in the summer of 2019 and previously held the student intern position at the Center.
Ava focuses on one of the Center's projects related to data transparency in clinical trials. She has continued her involvement with the MRCT Center on additional projects relating to pediatric populations in clinical trials, health literacy, and the details of informed consent forms. Ava has a strong interest in public health policy and public health initiatives.
Ava graduated Concord Academy in 2020 and matriculated at Brown University in the academic year of 2020-2021 where she is pursuing a Master of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Faculty Director / Professor of Medicine
- Faculty Director / Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Barbara Bierer, MD, is the Faculty Director of the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center); Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; and a hematologist/oncologist. She is also the Director of the Regulatory Foundations, Ethics and Law Program of the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center and the Director of Regulatory Policy, SMART IRB. She is Faculty in the Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, and Affiliate Faculty in the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Previously she served as Senior Vice President, Research, at the Brigham and Women's Hospital for 11 years, and was the institutional official for human and animal research, for biosafety, and for research integrity. She initiated the Brigham Research Institute and the Innovation Hub (iHub), a focus for entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, she was the Founding Director of the Center for Faculty Development and Diversity at the BWH.
In addition to her academic responsibilities, Dr. Bierer served or serves as Chair of the Secretary's Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections, Department of Health and Human Services (2008-2012); as a member of the National Academies of Sciences Committee on Science, Technology and the Law (2007-2016); on the Boards of Directors of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) (2011-2020), Management Sciences for Health (MSH) (2013-2022), Vivli (2017-), Clinithink (2015-), and North Star Review Board (2020-). She chairs the Board of Trustees of the Edward P. Evans Foundation, a foundation supporting biomedical research. She has authored or co-authored over 260 publications.
Dr. Bierer received a B.S. from Yale University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
Carmen Aldinger, PhD, MPH, PMP, is the Director of Administration of the MRCT Center. Dr. Aldinger joined the MRCT Center in October 2014 and previously held Program Manager and Administrative and Training Manager positions at the Center.
Dr. Aldinger works across all administrative aspects of the Center, including Executive and Steering Committee sponsors, External Advisory Board, grants, sponsor stewardship, annual meetings, and many other operational and procedural aspects of the MRCT Center. She also manages a few capacity-building projects, including the Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency (JTF).
Dr. Aldinger has more than 25 years of experience in global health, including project management and leadership, materials development and capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, collaboration, and coordination. Prior to coming to the MRCT Center, she worked as a Project Director and Associate Center Director at the Education Development Center's Health and Human Development Division, Global Programs, co-directed the World Health Organization Collaborating Center to Promote Health through Schools and Communities, and subsequently worked as an independent consultant for United Nations agencies and non-profit organizations. Dr. Aldinger has a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Lesley University, a Master of Public Health in international health from Yale University, and a Bachelor's degree in health education from Towson University. Since November 2017, she is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Job Titles:
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
- Member of the Faculty, Lead Investigator
Carolyn Riley Chapman, PhD MS, joined the MRCT Center in October 2023. She is a Member of the Faculty of the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Lead Investigator in the Division of Global Health Equity (DGHE), Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Carolyn's work involves collaboration with diverse stakeholders to identify and address challenges in the research and development of precision medicine, including cell and gene therapies.
Prior to joining the MRCT Center, Carolyn was Faculty in the Center for Human Genetics and Genomics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine with a primary appointment as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health (Division of Medical Ethics). At NYU, she also served as Director of Research Ethics Education in the Translational Research Education and Careers (TREC) Unit of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and as the organizer of and lecturer in the NYU component of the WCG International Fellows Program. In the past, she has also worked as an Associate/Lecturer and as Interim Associate Director for the Columbia Bioethics program; as a business strategy management consultant in the biopharmaceuticals industry at L.E.K. Consulting; at a start-up biopharmaceutical company, Aton Pharma; and as a freelance science/medical writer.
Carolyn graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Biology. She has a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University and an MS in Bioethics from Columbia University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a Graduate Certificate in Survey Research at UConn's School of Public Policy.
Job Titles:
- Student Researcher, Creative Design
Chloe de Campos joined the MRCT Center as a Student Researcher, Creative Design, during the fall of 2023. In this role, she maintains the digital asset library and Center's image style guides. In addtion, Chloe contributes to the design of both print and digital communication materials for the MRCT Center.
Job Titles:
- a Legal Research Assistant
- Legal Research Assistant
Daniel Albert-Rozenberg joined the MRCT Center as a Legal Research Assistant in the fall of 2023, focusing on the legal treatment of clinical trial compensation in state and federal benefits calculations. Daniel has a strong interest in public health law and health insurance policy.
Daniel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Brandeis University in 2019 and is currently pursuing his Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Partner, Ropes & Gray
- Senior Advisor / Partner, Ropes & Gray
David Peloquin practices law at Ropes & Gray LLP where he is a member of the firm's health care group. He focuses his practice on advising academic medical centers, life sciences companies, and information technology companies on issues related to human subjects research and data privacy. He frequently writes and speaks on topics related to each of these areas and is a regular presenter at conferences and webinars of the American Health Law Association, the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and central and institution-specific institutional review boards. Outside of his law practice, David served until recently as a community member of the Institutional Review Board at Mass General Brigham in Boston. In recent years, David has spent considerable time advising clients on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including with respect to modifications to clinical research, implementation of telehealth technologies, and development and implementation of clinical diagnostic testing programs.
David has worked with MRCT Center since 2013. He has contributed to projects on data sharing, the return of research results to clinical trial subjects, and the impact of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on research. He has presented at the MRCT Center's Research, Regulatory, and Development Roundtable (R3) on topics including GDPR, secondary uses of health data for clinical trial recruitment purposes, legal and ethical issues that arise when a company or institution uses its own employees or students as research participants, and decentralized clinical trials.
David received his undergraduate degree from Carleton College, his law degree from the Yale Law School and clerked for Judge Diana E. Murphy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Before attending law school, David worked as a project manager for Epic Systems, a manufacturer of electronic medical records.
Dr. Strauss is Special Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Senior Advisor to the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center (MRCT) at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard. He received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College and completed his psychiatric training at Columbia University Medical Center and the NYS Psychiatric Institute.
Dr. Strauss's interests and expertise involve the ethics and regulation of clinical research with vulnerable populations, and psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders. At the MRCT, Dr. Strauss is a member of the leadership team of a multi-stakeholder group working to promote , equity, and inclusion in clinical research. At Columbia, Dr. Strauss co-leads the ethics unit of a federally funded center grant entitled "Optimizing and Personalizing Interventions for People with Schizophrenia Across the Lifespan." He is a former member of SACHRP and co-chaired its Subcommittee on the Inclusion of Individuals with Impaired Decision-making in Research. He currently serves on a SACHRP subcommittee charged with developing recommendations to enhance Subpart A or the "Common Rule." Dr. Strauss has been a member of the Ethics Advisory Council at Takeda Pharmaceuticals since 2016, and serves as faculty at Fordham University's Research Ethics Training Institute.
Until 2018, Dr. Strauss held a series of clinical and research leadership positions in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia and the NYS Psychiatric Institute, including Vice Chair for Research Administration, Ethics and Policy, Director of Research Operations and Compliance, and Chairman of the IRB. Dr. Strauss co-chaired Columbia University's Standing Committee on the Conduct of Research, and was co-director of the Ethics, Public Policy, and Human Rights Core of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies.
Dr. Strauss practices psychotherapy and psychopharmacology in NYC. He teaches, lectures, and consults widely on matters of human subjects protections and applied research and professional ethics.
Job Titles:
- Chief Research Compliance Officer, Harvard University / Project Director, Building University Capacity in Responsible Science for Broader Middle East and North Africa
Ara Tahmassian, Ph.D., is the University Chief Research Compliance Officer. In this role, Dr. Tahmassian is broadly responsible for the oversight of the review, development, and implementation of policies related to research compliance activities across the University. Additionally, Dr. Tahmassian works toward the overall effort to manage potential risks at the University by integrating and coordinating the significant compliance requirements across the University.
Prior to being named University Chief Research Compliance Officer at Harvard, Dr. Tahmassian was the Associate Vice President for Research Compliance at Boston University and Boston Medical Center, responsible for maintaining a research environment that promoted integrity and ethical behavior and that abided by the regulations and requirements established by the federal, state, and local funding agencies. Dr. Tahmassian also served as the Principal Investigator for the core BSL-3 select agent laboratory and as one of the Associate Directors of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at the BU Medical Campus.
Dr. Tahmassian holds a B.Sc. in nuclear engineering and a Ph.D. in radiobiology from Queen Mary College, London University, and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Sciences in Nuclear Medicine.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of the Greenwall Foundation
- President Emeritus, Greenwall Foundation / Chair, MRCT Center External Advisory Board
Before becoming President and CEO of the Greenwall Foundation, Dr. Lo was Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program in Medical Ethics at UCSF. A member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM, now called the National Academy of Medicine, NAM), Dr. Lo served on the IOM Council, chaired the IOM Board on Health Sciences Policy, and chaired IOM or NAM committees on conflicts of interest in medicine, responsible sharing of clinical trial data, and clinical practice guidelines prescribing opioids for acute pain. He chairs a NAM committee on ethical, legal, and regulatory issues associatd with neural chimeras and organoids. Dr. Lo also serves on the Board of Directors of Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) and on the Medical Advisory Panel of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He is author of Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians (6th ed., 2019).
Job Titles:
- Biopharmaceutical Board Director
Cristina Csimma, PharmD, MHP, is a biopharmaceutical executive, independent board director, former CEO, VC, and strategic advisor for biotechnology companies, NIH and patient foundations.
She serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Caraway Therapeutics and Forendo Pharma, a Board Director at Seneca Biopharma, Idera Pharmaceuticals, the T1D Exchange and on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Venture Philanthropy Scientific Advisory Committee. She was previously the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Exonics Therapeutics (acquired by Vertex in 2019), Board Director of Juniper Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Catalent in 2018), Board Director and SAB co-chair of Vtesse Pharma (acquired by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals 2017) and Board Director of Cydan where she was also the President and founding CEO. Other roles included Venture Advisor for NEA and Atlas Ventures, and the NIH External Oversight Committee of the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network. Previously, she served as Vice President of Drug Development at Virdante Pharmaceuticals Inc., Principal at Clarus Ventures LLC, and held multiple roles in Clinical Development and Translational Research at Wyeth (now Pfizer), Genetics Institute and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Dr. Csimma received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, and a Master of Health Professions from Northeastern University.
Job Titles:
- Editor, NEJM Group / Senior Physician, Brigham and Women 's Hospital
Born and raised in Clayton, Missouri, Dr. Drazen majored in applied physics at Tufts University and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1972. Dr. Drazen currently holds the positions of senior physician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Distinguished Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, professor of physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and adjunct professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. He is the recipient of honorary degrees from the University of Ferrara, the University of Athens, and the University of Paris-Sud. Dr. Drazen is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians and the National Academy of Medicine. He serves on the Academy's Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation.
An active researcher in the field of pulmonary medicine, Dr. Drazen defined the role of novel endogenous chemical agents in asthma. This led to four new licensed pharmaceuticals for asthma, now used in the treatment of millions of people worldwide.
He has published over 600 papers, editorials and review articles and has edited 12 books, including six editions of Goldman-Cecil Medicine and two of Asthma and COPD. From 2000 to 2019, Dr. Drazen was editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. During his tenure, the Journal published major papers advancing the science of medicine, including the first descriptions of SARS, timely coverage of the Ebola and Zika virus epidemics, and advances in the treatment of cancer, heart disease and lung disease. Ithas been at the forefront of worldwide efforts to register all clinical trials and to share clinical trial data. The Journal now has over two million unique visitors every week and the highest impact factor of any medical journal publishing original research. He now serves as Editor of NEJM Group.
Job Titles:
- Executive Chairman, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals
- Founder & Former Chief Executive Officer, Vertex / Executive Chairman, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Boger founded Vertex in 1989 and was the company's Chief Executive Officer from 1992 until May 2009. He served in the additional role of Chairman of the Board from 1997 until 2006. After retiring as CEO in May 2009, he continued on the Vertex Board of Directors until June 2017 and was Chair of its Science and Technology Committee. In early June 2023, Dr. Boger was named Executive Chairman of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Boger began his industry career at Merck in 1978. Immediately before he founded Vertex, he was Senior Director of Basic Chemistry at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories and headed both the Departments of Chemistry of Immunology & Inflammation and of Biophysical Chemistry. Dr. Boger holds a B.A. in chemistry and philosophy from Wesleyan University and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Global Advisory Council, Harvard University
Dr. Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in public health and medicine. She currently serves as Foreign Secretary for the National Academy of Medicine and recently completed her tenure as President and Board Chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Prior to this, she was Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where she was known for advancing regulatory science, modernizing regulatory pathways, and globalization of the agency. Before this, Dr. Hamburg was founding vice president and senior scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a foundation dedicated to reducing nuclear, chemical and biological threats. Other positions have included Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HHS), Health Commissioner for New York City, and Assistant Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Dr. Hamburg is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American College of Physicians, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Academy of Medicine, where she serves as Foreign Secretary. Dr. Hamburg currently sits on the Boards of the Commonwealth Fund, the Simons Foundation, the Urban Institute, the American Museum of Natural History, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She serves in various advisory roles, including on the Harvard University Global Advisory Council and the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Gates Foundation. She has received numerous awards and honorary degrees.
Job Titles:
- Independent Consultant
- Independent Consultant and the Former Vice President of Innovation Policy, Global Policy at Pfizer
Dr. Hill is an independent consultant and the former Vice President of Innovation Policy, Global Policy at Pfizer, which places the advancement of human health at the center of global life sciences policy development. She was a member of the Pfizer Bioethics Advisory Panel and was the founding editor of the Value of Medicines at Pfizer.com. Her work addressed unmet policy needs in clinical trials, compassionate access, precision medicine, vaccines, anti-microbial resistance and Medicare.
Prior to joining Pfizer, as a director of the International Center for the Disabled, she led the social policy research with the National Council on Disability, that helped secure passage of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. As a former leader of the March of Dimes in NYC, she worked to advanced maternal and infant health by advocating for expanded Medicaid coverage and SCHIP.
Job Titles:
- Program and Team Director
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Member of the Dana - Farber / Harvard Cancer Center Breast Cancer Advocacy Group
- Program Director, Cancer Connection
- Senior Advisor / Program Director, Cancer Connection
Elizabeth Cahn, PhD, is a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Breast Cancer Advocacy Group and the Rays of Hope Center for Breast Cancer Research Advocacy Council (Springfield, MA). She is a breast cancer survivor and BRCA1 mutation carrier, and has been a caregiver for family members with cancer and traumatic brain injury. She has extensive experience with clinical trial participation, informed consent, family decision-making, guardianship, complicated treatment decisions in collaborative treatment settings, and palliative care.
Dr. Cahn has been involved in cancer research advocacy since 2007. She has been a patient advocate on many breast cancer research proposals and projects as well as a speaker on topics such as the patient experience of cancer treatment, oncology clinical trial participation, return of genetic results to patients, and research advocacy.
Dr. Cahn is employed as Program Director at Cancer Connection, a community-based non-profit in Northampton, MA, that provides support services for individuals with all types of cancer as well as their caregivers and families. Prior to this, she worked in the fields of architecture and planning, in higher education, and in community outreach related to women's health and public safety.
Dr. Cahn has undergraduate degrees in Fine Arts and Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She later earned master's degrees in Architectural History, Theory, and Criticism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in Art Therapy from Seton Hill College. In 2014 she completed a PhD in Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she also earned a Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies. She lives in Amherst, MA.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
Erin joined the MRCT Center in July 2023 as an Administrative Coordinator. Erin contributes to the Center's successful operations including financial and administrative tasks, management and events, coordinating calendars, and other administrative duties.
Erin comes to the MRCT Center with five years of experience in front desk administration and worked most recently as Interim Office Manager at One Medical Group.
Erin attended Emmanuel College, where she pursued an individualized major in Anatomical Illustration. Her degree combined her passions for STEM and the arts with a broader goal of demystifying and breaking down educational barriers within the healthcare field.
Job Titles:
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
- Program Manager
Hayat Ahmed is a Program Manager at the MRCT Center. Hayat joined the MRCT Center in August 2017, and previously held Project Coordinator and Project Manager positions at the Center.
Hayat is primarily involved in the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in Clinical Research project. Prior to joining the MRCT Center Team, Hayat has worked with the John Snow Research & Training Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on global health projects. Hayat also has experience as a Technical Research Assistant in an HIV/AIDS research laboratory in the Department of Infectious Disease at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Hayat obtained her Master of Science degree in Global Health and Population from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College.
Jack Ferdman, JD, MPH, joined the MRCT Center in September 2023 as a Research Analyst focusing primarily on building out frameworks to equip clinical researchers to continue trials safely and ethically in times of emergency. Jack also monitors global policy changes in the clinical trial space to ensure the MRCT Center's guidance remains on the vanguard of clinical research. Jack brings 15 years of experience in drug and vaccine discovery research to complement his health policy analyses. Previously, he has worked for AbbVie, Seqirus, and Massachusetts General Hospital, among others. He has also contributed to health equity efforts with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and recently contributed a textbook chapter on vaccine policy.
Jack earned a JD specializing in Health Law from Boston University School of Law, an MPH in Health Policy, Law, and Management from Boston University School of Public Health, and a BS in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience from Emmanuel College. He currently serves on the Leadership Council of Boston Scores, a community outreach organization aiming to empower underprivileged and inner-city students to build essential life skills and academic success through team-based enrichment programs.
Kayleigh To joined the MRCT Center as a Project Manager in June 2022. Her work is currently focusing on projects in Health Literacy in Clinical Research and Post-Trial Responsibilities and Continued Access to Investigational Medicines. Prior to joining the MRCT Center, Kayleigh worked as a research assistant at Brigham and Women's Hospital researching cardiology and preventative medicine in the Division of Preventive Medicine. She also interned at the Usher Syndrome Coalition where she created tools for governmental advocacy and produced accessible materials summarizing Usher syndrome related news for the community.
Kayleigh graduated from Boston University with a Master's in Public Health concentrating in Health Policy and Law. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Health: Science, Society and Policy along with minors in History and Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Brandeis University. Additionally, Kayleigh is interested in the cultural impact of soccer globally.
Job Titles:
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
- Program Coordinator
Kristin Bartlett joined the MRCT Center as a Program Coordinator in January 2022 after 6 years at Harvard Medical School, where she served as an Executive Coordinator in the Clinical Translational Science Center. She is responsible for management and administration of ongoing projects within the Center as well as in-person and online training courses intended for a global audience. Kristin's role serves across different programs/projects within the Center.
Kristin attended Newbury College pursuing a double management degree in Culinary Arts Management and Hotel Administration. Her experience in the hospitality and service industry has expanded her skills sets to anticipate the needs of others and seek creative solutions for day-to-day operations.
Lauren Otterman joined the MRCT Center in June 2022 as a Project Manager. Lauren is primarily involved in the Center's work on promoting global clinical research in children and return of aggregate study results to participants. Lauren has a background in the Boston non-profit sector, where she worked in various programmatic and operational roles at My Life My Choice and Social Venture Partners Boston.
Lauren obtained her Master of Bioethics and Health Law degree from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her dissertation focused on the ethical, legal, and social impacts of emerging reproductive technologies, specifically artificial womb technologies. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Philosophy from Boston College.
Job Titles:
- a Student Researcher, Creative Design
- Student Researcher, Creative Design
Lindsey Henriques joined the MRCT Center as a Student Researcher, Creative Design, during the spring of 2024. She has interest in exploring the creation, representation, and communication of information.
Lindsey received her BFA in Graphic Design from Louisiana State University in 2020 and an Exhibition Design Certificate from Pratt in 2021. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Information Design and Data Visualization from Northeastern University.
Lisa Koppelman, MSW, LICSW, MPH, is Program & Team Director at the MRCT Center. Lisa joined the MRCT Center in June 2019 and previously held the Program Manager position at the Center.
In her roles at the Center, Lisa focuses on issues related to the global harmonization of pediatric clinical trials, elevating the voices of young people in clinical research, and community engagement. She also focuses on incorporating key elements of coaching and professional development into her work that supports the Center's staff.
Lisa brings over fifteen years' experience as a public health professional to her work, previously overseeing projects on a range of content with a particular focus on qualitative research methods in her work at the Boston University School of Public Health. Prior to her immersion in the public health realm, Lisa worked for 15+ years as a clinical social worker in a variety of settings.
Lisa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University, her Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University School of Social Work, and her Master of Public Health degree in International Health from Boston University School of Public Health. She is a certified yoga teacher, a trained Executive Coach, and conducts professional development trainings focused on emotional intelligence in the workplace.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Senior Adviso R
- Senior Advisor, MRCT Center / Chairperson at Advarra IRB
Dr. Gelinas is a Chairperson at Advarra IRB where he provides analysis and guidance on complex ethical issues arising in the course of clinical research study design and human participant protection. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in Religion, summa cum laude, from Yale Divinity School.
From 2015-2018, Dr. Gelinas was Senior Researcher at Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. There he led collaborative and multi-stakeholder projects addressing foundational and practical issues in research ethics, including projects on the ethical issues implicated in the use of social media for research recruitment, clinical trial priority-setting, and the ethical and regulatory parameters of paying research participants.
Between 2012-2015, Dr. Gelinas completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Bioethics at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, as well as subsequent training in clinical ethics consultation at Alden March Bioethics Institute.
Dr. Gelinas' written work has appeared in leading medical and bioethics journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, Hastings Center Report, and Journal of Medical Ethics. He frequently lectures and consults on various issues in research ethics and human participant protection.
Job Titles:
- Faculty Co - Director / Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP / Visiting Lecturer, Yale Law School
Mark's law practice and his teaching at Yale focus on health care law and finance, human and animal research, stem cell and genetic research, research grants and contracts, research misconduct, and international research. Mark formerly served at Harvard as the Senior Associate Provost and University Senior Research Officer and started and directed Harvard's HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Nigeria, Tanzania and Botswana. Mark has held senior appointed positions in the New York City and State departments of health. In 2019, he was named the "Legal Innovator of the Year" by the Financial Times, and over the past two decades has served in various capacities on the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections and its subcommittees.
Job Titles:
- Director General of the National Agency for Food
Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria
Professor Moji Adeyeye is the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria, where she has added a strong governance structure and regulatory strengthening to NAFDAC through a disciplined and motivating workforce, updating regulations and guidelines, strengthening the local pharmaceutical companies through international best practices, and encouraging local production. She has brought NAFDAC from insolvency to solvency. She refocused the Agency through a Quality Management System approach and WHO Global Benchmarking to be a Standard Operating Procedure-driven organization that has embraced international standards and best practices. This has resulted in the attainment of ISO 9001-2015 in 2019, WHO Maturity Level 3 (ISO 9004) in 2022 (a recognition as a well-functioning Agency in many regulatory functions), and Prequalification of Lagos Central Drug Control Laboratory in 2023. She changed the culture of NAFDAC to a Customer-focused and Agency-minded establishment in order to safeguard the health of the nation. The Director General is keenly involved in the Lot Release, Post-Approval Safety Monitoring, and Traceability of COVID-19 vaccines, which is focused on the visibility of COVID-19 Vaccines Supply Chain using GS1-driven Technology nationally and continentally. She has initiated research collaboration with several institutions as a means of increasing staff competency and improving regulatory research.
Prof Adeyeye graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria, with a B. Pharm degree in 1976. She obtained her PhD from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, in Industrial Pharmacy, in 1988. Prior to assuming the position of Director General of NAFDAC, she was a Professor of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Drug Evaluation for thirty years in the USA. She has mentored over 15 PhD and M.S candidates and co-advised 18 graduate students as a research committee member.
Molly Siegel joined the MRCT Center as a Student Intern in the spring of 2022 working on a project related to trial termination. She will continue her involvement with the MRCT Center by providing data collection and analytic support across various ongoing projects at the Center. Molly is very interested in global health initiatives, especially surrounding humanitarian work and health equity for children.
Molly graduated John Jay High School in 2019. She matriculated at Brown University in the academic year of 2019-2020 where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health and International and Public Affairs while also working towards her Masters of Global Health at the Brown School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
- Senior Communications and Website Specialist
Nannie Clough joined the MRCT Center in November 2022 as the Senior Communications and Website Specialist. With over fifteen years of experience in print and digital communication in both non-profit and e-commerce environments, Nannie's work supports a broad communication strategy to facilitate and augment the work of the MRCT Center team.
Nannie earned her Bachelor of Arts at Colby College. She is active in several non-profits in her community and an eager outdoorsperson.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Executive Director of Vivli
- Executive Director, Vivli / Instructor, Harvard Medical School
- Senior Advisor / Executive Director, Vivli / Instructor, Harvard Medical School
Rebecca Li, PhD, is the Executive Director of Vivli, the Center for Global Clinical Research Data and on faculty at the Center for Bioethics at the Harvard Medical School and serves as the Co-director of the Research Ethics Program. Previous to her current role she was the Executive Director of the MRCT Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard for over 5 years and remains a Senior Advisor at the Center. She has over 25 years of experience spanning the entire drug development process with experience in Biotech, Pharma and CRO environments. She completed a Fellowship in 2013 in the Division of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School. She earned her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Sarah Evenson joined the MRCT Center in June 2022 as a Project Manager. Sarah manages the Bioethics Collaborative and the Research, Development, and Regulatory Roundtable (R3) forums​, organizing and preparing content for the meetings as well as leading projects on the ideas that arise during discussion.
Sarah graduated from Haverford College in 2021 with a BA in Sociology and completed a Master of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2022. She has previously been an intern in the Biomedical Ethics Research Program at Mayo Clinic and served as a research assistant in a neurobiology lab and on a project investigating ethics of machine learning applications in precision medicine. Sarah also volunteers as a Fellow at the Patient Revolution, a non-profit focused on a vision of careful and kind healthcare for all.
Sarah White, MPH, MRCT Center Executive Director, is responsible for developing, defining, and implementing the overall strategy and vision for the Center as well as oversee all management aspects of the MRCT Center functions. Sarah has over 20 years of experience in human subjects' research including experience at both academic medical centers and industry.
Prior to joining the MRCT Center, Sarah was the Director of the Human Research Quality Improvement Program (QI Program) at Partners' Healthcare in Boston, Massachusetts. In this capacity, she was responsible for strategic planning and oversight of the QI Program activities across the human research communities at Partners Healthcare, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. In addition, Sarah oversaw FDA Sponsor-Investigator support and the centralized support of clinical trials registration and disclosure. Sarah is the co-chair of the national Clinical Trials Registration Taskforce, a large consortium of academic medical centers, hospitals and universities that identify best practices, develop tools, and serve as a communication forum associated with the requirements for clinical trials registration and results reporting that affect US academic health centers. Sarah received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor for McKinsey & Company
- Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company / Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business
Steve Davis serves as a Senior Advisor for McKinsey & Company, as a Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Steve has deep experience, and sits on numerous boards and advisory groups, focused on the intersection of business, innovation, and social impact. He most recently served as Executive Strategic Advisor and Interim Director, China Country Office, for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as co-chair of the World Health Organization's Digital Health Technical Advisory Group, and as a Distinguished Fellow for the World Economic Forum. Steve is the former President & CEO of PATH, a leading global health innovation organization; former Director of Social Innovation at McKinsey; former CEO of Corbis, a digital media pioneer; and as an attorney with K&L Gates. With degrees from Princeton University, University of Washington, and Columbia Law School, Steve also is the author of Undercurrents: Channeling Outrage to Spark Practical Activism (Wiley 2020), and speaks and writes frequently on topics related to corporate engagement in social impact, social innovation, and digital health. He lives with his family in Seattle, Washington.
Job Titles:
- Member of the MRCT Center Team
- Program Director