Real People, Real Stories
Clinical trials can change lives! Here, we feature stories of people that have participated in clinical trials – why they decided to consider a trial, what were the most important aspects for their consideration, how they discussed it with their doctor and family, and the effects it had on their lives. We also feature stories from individuals who support clinical trials to get their perspective on why trial participation is important and what makes them want to work in this field to bring new treatments to those that need them.
LaToya Hinton is the CEO and Research Director of NEXT Innovative Clinical Research
LaToya compares her efforts running a clinical research site to being a conductor of a great symphony. As a site owner, she is responsible for identifying locations, onboarding physicians, training staff, and supporting all stages of the studies that take place at her sites
Michelle Anderson-Benjamin is a Tigerlily ANGEL and fierce advocate in the breast cancer world.
Having triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and being PD-L1 negative, Michelle knows that she’s got limited options for treatment, especially when it comes to immunotherapies. By participating in a clinical trial examining different chemotherapies, she’s able to expand the options that are available for her specific diagnosis – and contribute to the development process for these treatments that allows them to be made available to other people just like her in the future.
LaTisha Weaver is a Clinical Budget and Contract Negotiator with a game plan
Like many people in their current positions, LaTisha moved in to her analyst role after life threw her a 180. As a parent, she had been laid off from her previous role and was able to get a new position with a central laboratory organization that provides lab services for clinical trials.
Allanda Christenson wants to share just how important the power of advocacy – especially self-advocacy – can be.
While we often think about clinical trials as a way to compare whether a potential new treatment is as good or better than other current treatments, there are a lot of other types of clinical trials available.
Finding My Purpose – Dr. Lisa Treviño, PhD
If you had asked me over 30 years ago if I would be doing what I’m doing now as a career, I think I would have done an about-face and said “What? No way!”. Actually, I believe there is footage where I was asked, “Lisa, where do you see yourself in 10 years”? I think I responded with, “I want to be traveling the world!” While I have done some traveling, it is probably not what I was envisioning at the time.
Shakisha Davis
Shakisha Davis is an active Tigerlily Foundation ANGEL Advocate that wants to highlight her experiences with the power of advocacy – especially when it comes to advocating for one’s own health.
Dr. Lovie Negrin, APRN, FNP-C, AG ACNP
In her daily efforts, Dr. Negrin is a double board-certified clinical research nurse practitioner working in both acute care and family medicine. Having seen low participation from racial and ethnic minority communities compiled with a lack of diverse representation in medical staff overseeing clinical research efforts, she switched gears from an academic/institutional environment to open a community-focused clinical research site called Randomize Now.
Syreeta Coleman
Syreeta Coleman, Tigerlily Foundation ANGEL advocate and clinical trial participant, has a message for our newsletter readers: “If you want to be part of the solution, get out there!”
Christina Mackey, Keisha Stephney, and Faridah Thomas
Tigerlily Foundation has partnered with GSK on the My Living Legacy campaign. This campaign drives awareness and education on clinical trials for communities across the U.S. and aims to normalize conversations about clinical trial participation for communities that are often under-represented in clinical trials.
Beatrice Doe
Beatrice Doe is currently a Project Specialist who supports clinical trials for a Contract Research Organization (CRO). CROs are often the partners to pharma companies when it comes to running the clinical trials.
Jazmin Barnes
When discussing how clinical researchers can help encourage the communities they serve to raise their hand for participation, Jazmin notes the importance of having site staff and study teams engage directly in the community to build that foundational relationship of trust. S
Camille Lewis
Camille Lewis had every reason not to join a clinical trial.
“I just told myself, ‘Nothing changes if nothing changes.’” Camille Lewis