This year’s winners of the 2019 PharmaTimes Clinical Researcher of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony and gala dinner on 4th of May at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, MA.
The dinner rounded off a day of fierce competition in which 58 individual finalists and 18 teams battled it out for the coveted pharma award in each of their respective categories, before attending the awards ceremony, which was hosted by broadcast journalist at WCVB TV, Anthony Everett.
Competition co-chair Debbie Rosenbaum addressed the audience before dinner to thank the sponsors and steering group of the competition for their “time, expertise and financial support to make the Awards a success”, and also give “thanks to the judges, who have given their time and expertise to review your categories and consider your presentations.”
She continued to recognize the hard work of the finalists, and wish them good luck before the awards began.
The night kicked off with the Clinical Research Co-ordinator category, which was won by Willow Chanthavong from Merdian Clinical Research, who commented: “I am grateful to those individuals who made it possible for me to compete this year, including my spouse, co-workers, patients, Investigators, and the leadership at Meridian Clinical Research. Each one of them has shaped my career and growth as a person, and I am so very honored to represent them.”
She also had high praises for the event, saying it was “Well organised from competition to awards dinner. I felt privileged to be among some of the best in the industry, with beautiful Boston as the backdrop. It is an experience that I would definitely share and encourage others to achieve.”
Ventavia Research’s Mercedes Livingston won Silver place, and Meghan Purdy of PMG Research came in at Bronze.
Moving on to the New Clinical Research Associate category, sponsored by ICON & PMG Research. Sarah Monteith from PAREXEL was named New Clinical Research Associate of the Year, taking home the gold award, followed by Mandy Williams of PRA Health Sciences and Amy Saperstein from Syneos Health.
Sarah commented that she was “proud to have been there with the other finalists”, and went on to say that “it was a privilege to have the opportunity to consider the implications and impact of technological advancement in the realm of clinical research, especially while being surrounded by so many people who have undoubtedly impacted the industry in their respective roles.
“To engage in events like this so early in my career in clinical research pushes me to continue to learn from those around me, and affords me the continued perspective and motivation to grow within the industry.”
The third award of the night was Experienced Clinical Research Associate, won by Julianne Robbins from Covance, who called the accolade an “honour”, and said she was “elated to be part of such an exciting event”.
Julianne also commented, “The competition was a great opportunity to connect with colleagues of all levels, and I am looking forward to the chance to participate again next year. The competition provided an opportunity to test your skills and knowledge beyond your day-to-day role, which was my favorite part. I would highly encourage my colleagues to look into this opportunity!”
PPD’s Simon Simonov came in second in Experienced Clinical Research Associate and Anandavalli Thiagarajan of PRA Health Sciences took home the bronze award.
Next up was the Clinical Trial Manager award, which was won by Rafi Ahmed from PRA Health Sciences, continuing a night of success for the company. Joella Kittrell of Syneos Health took home the Silver award and Medpace’s Michael Bodmann came in at Bronze.
The last individual category of the night was Project Manager, led by Kayla Klofenstine from PRA Health Sciences who took home the Gold, with Silver place being awarded to Covance’s Joshua Ondatje and Bronze going to Markese Sanders, also from Covance.
Moving on to the team entries of the night, Greater Gift’s executive director, Amanda Wright took to the stage to say a few words about the competition before moving straight into first category – Company Team of the year, which was won by Mission Possible from PRA Health Sciences.
Following that, the Strategic Team company was announced, won by another PRA Health Sciences team; Team TITANS. Bronze place went to Convergence from PRA Health Sciences and Tolerated Dose from the same company grabbed the Bronze prize.
Next, Clinical Research Dream Team from PMG Research took home the Gold prize for the Site Team of the Year award, closely followed by The Advocates from PMG Research.
Finally, rounding off a wonderful evening of awards, networking and celebration, PRA Health Sciences took home the coveted Company of the Year award.
David Marks, senior vice president at PRA commented on his company’s success, saying: “PRA Health Sciences has a proud history in the PharmaTimes Clinical Researcher of the Year competition and we are honored to win the 2019 Clinical Research Company of the Year award for the seventh year in a row in the Americas!
“We are especially proud of our 28 colleagues who won their categories as well as our 58 colleagues who made it to the Finals. This simply would not be possible without all their dedication and the support from their management team who guide them throughout the CROY journey. We look forward to continuing our legacy in future competitions.”
THE WINNERS 2019
Clinical Research Co-ordinator
Winner
Willow Chanthavong, Merdian Clinical Research
Silver
Mercedes Livingston, Ventavia Research
Bronze
Meghan Purdy, PMG Research
New CRA (less than 4 years’ experience)
Winner
Sarah Monteith, PAREXEL
Silver
Mandy Williams, PRA Health Sciences
Bronze
Amy Saperstein, Syneos Health
Experienced CRA (more than 4 years’ experience)
Winner
Julianne Robbins, Covance
Silver
Simon Simonov, PPD
Bronze
Anandavalli Thiagarajan, PRA Health Sciences
Clinical Trial Manager
Winner
Rafi Ahmad, PRA Health Sciences
Silver
Joella Kittrell, Syneos Health
Bronze
Michael Bodmann, Medpace
Project Manager
Winner
Kayla Klofenstine, PRA Health Sciences
Silver
Joshua Ondatje, Covance
Bronze
Markese Sanders, Covance
Company Team
Winner
Mission Possible, PRA Health Sciences
Silver
The Avengers, PRA Health Sciences
Bronze
Hungry Hungry Hipaas, PRA Health Sciences
Strategic Team
Winner
Team TITANS, PRA HS and Mirati Therapeutics
Silver
Convergence PRA HS, Palatin Technologies, Marquez Clinical Site Partners LLC and Adare Pharmaceuticals
Bronze
Tolerated Dose PRA HS and Takeda
Site Team
Winner
Clinical Research Dream Team, PMG Research
Silver
The Advocates, PMG Research
Company of the Year
Winner
PRA Health Sciences
