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Day in the Work Life by Desiree Leiva Phillips

I graduated in June 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. When I left DePaul, I
knew nothing about clinical research and how it directly impacts people’s health and safety. The
clinical research field is still a relatively small field, but it affects every single person that takes
prescription drugs, uses medical devices, or gets a vaccine shot.

As a clinical research professional, working for a global, health care company, it is my


responsibility to ensure that clinical trials are conducted in accordance to federal laws and
international guidelines and practices. This industry is highly regulated and we, as a company,
are in frequent communication with regulatory agencies to ensure that our research studies
(clinical trials) collect sufficient data to show that our products are effective and safe for patients.

One of my main job responsibilities as a Clinical Research Management Associate is to


develop study protocols that must be strictly followed by the Doctors that we contract with to
conduct the research study. The study protocol is the most important piece of documentation
that is created for a clinical research study. Typically, one protocol can take from 1 month to 1
year to develop depending on the complexity of the study design. The protocol development
process involves collaborating with different experts, such as medical doctors, pharmacologists,
statisticians, regulatory representatives, and others. It is my job to collect their comments and
create the protocol based on their input. In conjunction, I will also create various other
documents that are integral to the management and conduct of the research study. There are too
many to mention!

Once a study is in the patient recruitment stages (and after the protocol has been
approved), my responsibilities will include vendor management, answering questions that study
doctors and/or their staff may have about various aspects of the study, and ensuring sites have
the necessary supplies needed to conduct the study. The most valuable skills one could have as a
Clinical Research Management Associate are the ability to multi-task, communicate effectively,
and manage time well. That is because at any given time I could be working on more than one
research study, at varying stages of development.

What I value about my job is that I know what I do today will eventually help a patient in need.

To connect with Desiree and other ASK mentors like her, contact ASK at
ask@depaul.edu or 312.362.8281.

To learn more about DePaul Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK), visit http://ask.depaul.edu.

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