2012 ACRP Annual Award Winners
The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and the Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research (APCR) presented their respective 2012 Annual Awards recognizing individual excellence in a variety of clinical research enterprise settings at the ACRP 2012 Global Conference & Exhibition in Houston, Texas, during a joint reception on April 15.
Outstanding Leadership in Clinical Research
- Donna Campbell, RN, CCRC®, Research Manager for the Geelong Cardiology Research Unit at Barwon Health Geelong Hospital in Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Stacey Adkins, RN, CCRA®, Senior Clinical Team Leader for Infectious Disease and General Medicine with INC Research in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- Pamela J. Wolfe, MS, MBA, Strategic Project Manager with Frestedt Inc. in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
The Outstanding Leadership in Clinical Research Award recognizes individuals who are active as Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs), Clinical Research Associates (CRAs), and/or Project Managers (ACRP’s three largest membership demographics), and who have made exceptional leadership/practice contributions that have furthered the vision and mission of ACRP. One award recipient has been chosen in each of these categories for 2012.
Leadership as a CRC
Donna Campbell is recognized for her performance at the very highest level in wide-ranging CRC responsibilities involving patient rights/safety; sponsor relationships; staff recruitment, training, and supervision; study feasibility assessment; ethics submissions; protocol adherence; standard operating procedures development; and more with the Geelong Cardiology Research Unit, which she helped establish in 2000 as a leading Australian center for the conduct of pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials in cardiovascular disease at the Geelong Hospital in Geelong, Victoria. On an ongoing basis, the unit is involved in the conduct of several large-scale, global Phase II–IV studies. In addition, the unit undertakes academic trials on its own initiative. She also is active as a research manager for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials for a doctor in private practice, and previously held positions with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Innovex Australia, the Baker Medical Research Institute, and the Monash Medical Centre, among other employers. She earned her CCRC designation through ACRP in 2011.
Leadership as a CRA
Stacey Adkins is recognized for her promotion of professional growth and her highly successful involvement in all aspects of monitoring as a CRA for more than eight years, most recently managing the training and performance of the members of multiple research teams and assisting with site selection and initiation with the goal of delivering on-time data collection, query resolution, trip report submissions, and database locks for global Phase II–IV studies with the contract research organization INC Research in Raleigh, N.C. In addition to therapeutic experience in infectious disease, oncology, central nervous system, cardiology, general medicine, and cardiovascular surgery, she has been a study coordinator at the site level and worked in intensive care unit and emergency room settings. Prior to joining INC Research in 2008, she held positions with Carolinas HealthCare System Blumenthal Cancer Center, Quintiles Inc., PPD, and Intelistaff Travel Nurses. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mercy School of Nursing in 1997 and her CCRA designation through ACRP in 2009.
Leadership as a Project Manager
Pamela J. Wolfe is recognized for her versatility as a healthcare professional with expertise in strategic planning and organizational/operational management, most recently as the strategic project manager for Frestedt Inc. in St. Louis Park, Minn., where she handles diverse projects with clients seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration or overseas regulatory clearances for biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical, and food products; manages clinical trial lifecycles; and oversees Frestedt’ s business/market development activities and the Minnesota Diet Research Center. She also is the business strategist and president of Big Bad Wolfe Strategies in Plymouth, Minn., and has previous experience as a clinic administrator with Sound Sleep Centers, as a business manager with On Call Clinicians, and as an adjunct faculty member with the University of Phoenix. She earned her MBA from the University of Minnesota and her master of science from Clemson University. For ACRP, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chapter and co-chairs its Membership Committee, and has developed several articles as author or coauthor for the peer-reviewed journal, The Monitor.
Innovation in Clinical Research
Aaron H. Chan, Clinical Research Associate with GlaxoSmithKline plc in Chicago, Illinois, USA
The Innovation in Clinical Research Award recognizes an individual who exemplifies the spirit of creativity and innovation through adaptation, improvement, or development of new processes that result in improvement to the clinical research process.
Aaron H. Chan is recognized for his contributions to the development of efficient and effective processes for study site management—especially in terms of information technology approaches—as a CRA responsible for monitoring sites in the therapeutic areas of respiratory, psychiatry, neurology, metabolism, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases for GlaxoSmithKline plc in Chicago, Ill., for which he created a widely used quality assurance program devoted to the accountability and return of investigational products. Other current duties include recruiting investigators for clinical trials; initiating study sites and monitoring them for compliance with federal regulations and company standard operating procedures; working with investigators and coordinators on study-related goals and challenges; and assisting with training for new CRAs. He first worked SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in Missouri in the late 1990s, and later for the merged GlaxoSmithKline. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Advancing Awareness in Clinical Research
Dr. Satish Chandra-Nair, Senior Specialist and Head of Clinical Research with SEHA-Tawam Hospital-Johns Hopkins Medicine International Affiliate in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
The Advancing Awareness in Clinical Research Award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the public’s understanding of clinical research and participation in studies, and to the advancement of the profession.
Dr. Satish Chandra-Nair is recognized for his support of the ACRP Gulf Cooperation Council covering the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, which he currently chairs, since its founding in 2007, and for contributions to establish good clinical practice for young and established clinical research investigators, physicians, coordinators, and monitors, as well as to the general public. In addition to his position at Tawam Hospital, he is active as an assistant professor with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of UAE University; as vice chair of the Al Ain Medical District Human Research Ethics Committee; and as a member of the SEHA Research Advisory Board in Abu Dhabi. He has earned degrees from Topiwala National Medical College, University of Calicut Medical College-University of Minnesota (PhD), and the University of Nebraska (MIS), and has held academic positions with the Universities of Cincinnati and Nebraska and senior management positions with Sunn Pharmaceuticals and Lab Corp Inc in California. He has published more than 45 research papers and won numerous awards, including the highest rated speaker honor at "Evolution Summit 2012"in Switzerland, and served on the editorial boards of several international medical journals.
The William C. Waggoner Award
Ingrid Klingmann, MD, FFPM, FBCPM, Chair of the Board of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice
The William C. Waggoner Award (formerly the Chairperson’s Award), is named in memory of William C. Waggoner (1936–2007), PhD, FAACT, former two-time chair of the ACRP Association Board of Trustees, and is determined by the Association Board of Trustees in recognition of an individual’s exceptional contributions to the field.
Ingrid Klingmann is recognized for her contributions to the global clinical research enterprise as a thought leader in contract research organization (CRO) and research site settings, as an inspiration on ethical clinical trial conduct and good clinical practice issues, and as a collaborator on improvements in pharmaceutical development and its legislations with all stakeholders in the European clinical research arena. Her professional experiences include serving as a medical advisor to the pharmaceutical industry, holding senior management positions with international CROs, heading several investigative sites, and, currently, leading her own pharmaceutical development and site management support consulting company. Among other activities, she is a founding member and current chair of the board of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice, and chairs programs of study related to clinical research for the University of Bonn in Germany and the University of Basel in Switzerland. She studied medicine in Germany and specialized in general medicine, clinical pharmacology, and pharmaceutical medicine.