Published: January 13, 2025
Meet Joan Brown, a Director in the Quality Management Unit of the Clinical Research Services at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Joan has been at the University of Miami for nine years and her career as a clinical research professional (CRP) spans approximately 21 years.
Joan shares that while working as the Unit Clerk in a juvenile detention center in Augusta, Georgia, the unit director left to take a position as Research Manager at the Medical College of Georgia and encouraged her to apply for a clinical research coordinator (CRC) position working with him. While as a CRC, Joan was mentored by him as research manager — learning the ins and outs of research operations.
She also received mentorship from a physician’s assistant who taught her everything she needed to know about seeing participants, completing procedures such as blood draws, EKG, lab procedures, and other assessments.
Joan found her previous work experiences in counseling and records management coupled with her inquisitive nature, attention to detail, and knack for statistics made clinical research a perfect fit for her skill set. Joan set out to learn all she could about research processes, such as implementing clinical research from initial contact with sponsors to study close out and everything in between.
Joan joined the CTSI’s Research Advocacy & Quality Champions Group because of the opportunity to be a positive influence on clinical operations at the Institution.
Joan shares that when she was seeing participants, the most feel-good moment was witnessing the gratitude participants had for the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial that she contributed to making available.
In her current role as quality manager, she has developed many tools to make implementation of clinical research easier in a complex system like UM and has streamlined processes and training.
Joan loves it when a CRP has an “ah ha” moment, and both the CRP and the participant benefit. She sees this as an all-around win!
Joan’s advice to other CRPs is to be inquisitive and take responsibility for advancing their education, training, knowledge, and experiences related to clinical research.
When away from work, Joan enjoys learning about other cultures through cooking. She also enjoys crocheting, playing the bass, a variety of physical activities, and spending time with family and friends.
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