Who We Are

Founded in 2003, The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and informing the public, patients, medical/research communities, the media, and policy makers about clinical research participation and the role that each party plays as a participant in the process. CISCRP’s staff and board of advisors have highly diverse backgrounds - from the clinical research, healthcare and advocacy communities. CISCRP’s funding comes from a wide variety of sources including individual donors, government and research institutions, foundations and corporations.

CISCRP Board of Directors

	Ken Getz, Founder and Board Chair Ken Getz is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, where he studies R&D management and operating models, investigative site, outsourcing, and study volunteer trends and policies. Ken is also the founder and owner of CenterWatch. A well-known speaker at conferences, symposia, universities and corporations, Ken has published more than 200 articles and chapters in peer-review journals, books, and in the trade press.  He is the author of two nationally recognized books for patients and their advocates titled, Informed Consent: A Guide to the Risks and Benefits of Volunteering for Clinical Trials and The Gift of Participation, and the recipient of several awards for innovation and scholarship. Ken has held a number of board appointments in the private and public sectors, including serving on the Institute of Medicine's Clinical Research Roundtable, the DIA Foundation, the Consortium to Examine Clinical Research Ethics, and the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative.
	Sharon Terry, Board of Director, CISCRP Sharon Terry is the President & CEO of Genetic Alliance. She is the founding Executive Director of PXE International, a research advocacy organization for the genetic condition pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). She is at the forefront of consumer participation in genetics research, services and policy and serves as a member of many of the major governmental advisory committees on medical research. In 2009, Sharon received the Research!America Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award and she has recently been named an Ashoka Fellow.
	Diane Simmons, President and CEO Diane Simmons, CISCRP’s President and CEO, has extensive experience in managing a nonprofit. For over ten years, she ran a $5 million United Way agency where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the agency’s strategic plan and she managed the functions of membership, marketing, programming, and finance. Prior to her involvement in running a nonprofit, she rose through the ranks of Citibank/Citigroup to Vice President of Management Development and Training, then Chief of Staff to the head of Citibank Visa/MasterCard, and then to Vice President of Citigroup Insurance Marketing generating $80 million business income annually.
Leadership Team
	Zachary Hallinan, Director of Development Zachary Hallinan is CISCRP's Director of Development. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he collaborated there and at the Georgia Institute of Technology on drug-discovery and natural products research, designed internationally-implemented science curricula, and coordinated development activities at three US-based non-profit science and education organizations prior to joining CISCRP. He has been recognized for his work and scholarship by both the American Chemical Society and the National Science Foundation.
	Brian Letourneau, Research and Public Service Administrator Brian is CISCRP’s Research and Public Service Administrator.  Before joining CISCRP, Brian gained experience working on clinical trials at a major Boston hospital.  Additionally, he spent time working with patients in physical rehabilitation and mental health treatment settings.  His prior work with non-profits includes completing a capacity-building project with a NGO in Benin and volunteering at a Boston-based crisis helpline.  Brian received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and international affairs from Northeastern University.
	Niki Eastley, Webmaster and Project Manager Niki Eastley is CISCRP's Webmaster and Project Manager for the Search Clinical Trials Search Engine. Prior to joining CISCRP in 2006, Niki spent 5 years at CenterWatch where she managed the Clinical Trial Listing Service and the CenterWatch.com website. Niki graduated from Boston College, receiving a BA in Communications.
Interns
	David Kates, University of Chicago John Anderson, Suffolk University

CISCRP Board of Advisors

Diana L. Anderson, Ph.D.
President & CEO, D. Anderson & Company

John Benbrook, CEO
MMG

Bonnie A. Brescia
Founding Principal, BBK Worldwide

Evan Brett
Patient Recruitment Consultant

Jean Burns, Patient Advocate

Robert Califf, MD
Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research, Duke University
Director, Duke Translational Medicine Institute

Joan A. Chambers
Chief Operating Officer, CenterWatch

Scott H. Connor
Vice President, Marketing, Acurian, Inc

William F. Crowley, MD
Professor of Medicine & Director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital

Peter A. DiBiaso, MHA
Clinical Development Operations, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Victoria Dwyer DiBiaso, MPH, RN
Head of Protocol Feasibility & Patient Enrollment
Genzyme

Sarah Ebner, MBA, MPH
President, Investigator Support Services, Inc.

Jorge G. Guerra, MD
Sr VP, Global Clinical Operations, Biogen Idec

Courtney Gray Haupt
Vice President, Healthcare, Edelman

Barbara Kephart
Director of Clinical Trial Services, JL Shapiro Associates

Felix A. Khin-Maung-Gyi, PharmD
CEO, Founder, Chesapeake Research Review, Inc.

David M. Knepper, MSD, PNP
Head of Continuous Improvement, GMO, Forest Labs

James Kremidas
VP Customer Solutions Business, Quintiles

Timothy S. LaCroix, MBA
Business Development, Premier Research

Mark Lacy
President & CEO, Benchmark Research

Christine Pierre, RN
President & CEO, Rx Trials, Inc.

Bernard Schwetz DVM
Former Director, United States Office of Human Research Protection

Jeffrey W. Sherman, MD, FACP
Chief Medical Officer, Horizon Pharma

Marjorie Speers, Ph.D.
President and CEO, Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs

Darby Steadman
Patient Advocate

Linda Strause, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Oncology Clinical Operations, Vical Inc

Ms. Myrl Weinberg
President, National Health Council

 

CISCRP 2010 Annual Report