About me

Over the last 15 years, I've built and managed site management organisations (SMO's), held Executive positions in Contract Research Organisations (CRO's), ran innovation groups and led all the major functions of clinical trial delivery. I have also held senior positions and advisory roles for a number of clinical trial technology companies, such as remote monitoring and a home testing, genetics platform aiming to decentralised trials for precision medicine based on an AI platform.

I never set out to be in the clinical trials world… like most people I fell into it. The start of my working life couldn't be further from this world: I began my career as a professional footballer with Burnley FC, spending a few years kicking a bag of air around a field. That was a lot of fun, but unfortunately, it had to end when I picked up an injury a few years into that career. But, as they say, when one door closes, another one opens.

After leaving the sporting world, I embarked on a journey to university to explore neuroscience / psychology, with the intention of becoming a neuropsychologist. During this time, I also set up a couple of small companies aiming to solve a variety of problems in mental health. Soon after graduation, I took a job working as an assistant neuropsychologist, and it was then that I discovered clinical trials and started working on them. From there, I set up a patient recruitment function before moving into site management for a private organisation… learning my craft whilst also testing different methodologies for optimising delivery. There is something about trying to move at speed, whilst dynamically managing delivery, that suits my personality. I then spent some time consulting for SMO's before moving into the world of the CRO.

Over the years I soon began leading all the major functions of clinical trial delivery, such as patient recruitment, Project Management, Clinical Operations, Laboratories, Data Management, Medical Affairs, Operational Performance / metrics. Because I've had the fortunate position to lead these groups, I've also been in the privileged position to see how they all fit together and, most importantly, how they can be optimised. For example, we developed systems and processes to move from contract signature to data-lock in just 9 months. We also created a single 'super site' that processed over 25,000 clinical trial visits per year and deployed engagement and optimisation solutions that resulted in an enrolment rate of 97.3% for over 7 years.

Most recently I have been focused in the area of innovation within clinical trials, working with a range of companies across the process.

The Endpoint podcast

It frustrates me to see the continuing difficulties in delivering research, coupled with the rising drug development costs, and it makes me wonder, why? Other industries are benefiting from innovation and are reaping Moore's Law effects -- faster and cheaper products over time. Yet we see the opposite in clinical trials… the dreaded Eroom's Law effect, where things become slower and more expensive over time despite advancements in technology. How does that make any sense?

Join me on my journey across the clinical trial landscape. I will be accompanied by a variety of people, all experts within their field, as we seek to understand and uncover unknowns, to shape ideas and to inspire innovation and ultimately to find out how we can truly move clinical trials out of the spiralling void of higher costs and lower outputs.