ACRP Celebrates 2025 Class of Fellows Representing the Best in Clinical Research

The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) is proud to welcome its new class of 2025 Fellows. Recognized with the FACRP designation for their contributions to ACRP and to the clinical research industry, each member has demonstrated commitment to advancing the profession by sharing his or her experiences and mentoring others in the field. 

“We are honored and excited to welcome these distinguished new members to this esteemed group,” said Susan Landis, Executive Director of ACRP. “Selection as an ACRP Fellow serves notice that you are a thought leader in this great enterprise, and have shared your time and talents generously through efforts to enhance the workforce and further elevate clinical trial quality.” 

Meet the members of the ACRP Fellows class of 2025: 

Christina Brennan, MD, MBA, CCRC, FACRP, has devoted her career to clinical research and serves as Northwell Health’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Research. Committed to the advancement of science and medicine, Dr. Brennan has more than 25 years of extensive clinical research experience, including more than 20 years in management roles. She received the Christine Pierre Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 and is the 2025 Chair of the Board of Trustees for ACRP. She is a member of the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative, in collaboration with Duke University and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for which she sits on several committees. She also sits on the oncology advisory board and technology site advocacy group with the Society for Clinical Research Sites, and is an active member of Women in Bio and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Dr. Brennan has authored chapters in textbooks, coauthored many manuscripts and abstracts, and spoken at numerous scientific and research meetings. She is also an adjunct faculty member for Yeshiva University and the York College of the CUNY system for its Master’s program in Clinical Trials Management. 

Elisa Cascade

Elisa Cascade, MBA, FACRP, as Chief Product Officer at Advarra, is responsible for driving the company’s technology product vision and management. She served as Chair of the ACRP Board of Trustees in 2024, and has devoted more than 30 years to advancing clinical trial technology, direct-to-patient study operations, and healthcare strategy. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in using technology to transform clinical research to better serve all industry stakeholders. Prior to joining Advarra, she held a number of high-profile roles, including Chief Product Officer for Science 37; Executive Vice President and Product Line Executive for eCOA at Clario; Chief Product Officer at DrugDev, an IQVIA Company; and Vice President of the Digital Patient Unit at Quintiles. Her industry honors include being named to the PharmaVOICE 100 and the Medicine Maker Power 100 for her innovative approach to furthering clinical research through industry collaboration and standardization of clinical trial technology/processes. She earned her MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Chad Eriksen, MS, CCRC, FACRP, has been involved with ACRP since 2010, served as President of the Gulf States Chapter for six years, and has maintained his Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC) designation since 2013. Following work as a study coordinator, he has held multiple leadership and advisory roles across various organizations within the clinical research industry. He is currently the Senior Project Manager and Advisor for the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation’s Protocol Activation and Lifecycle Management (PALM) unit as well as the Clinical Trial Billing Initiative. He is also the President and CEO of Iron Horse Research, established to empower physician practices with minimal clinical research exposure and provide them with the necessary expertise to build and expand their research operations in the most efficient and sustainable ways possible. He views the ACRP Fellowship as a pivotal opportunity to advocate for stronger collaborations between research sites, sponsors, and contract research organizations, and seeks to leverage this experience in support of continuous advancement for the field by promoting best practices and fostering synergetic relationships within the industry. 

Muhammad Waseem, MBBS, MS, FAAP, FACEP, FAHA, FSSH, CPI, FACRP, is a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York whose professional journey is marked by pediatric residency training, a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine, and a master’s degree in clinical investigation, epidemiology, and health services research from Cornell University. He has served as Research Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair of the Institutional Review Board at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. His commitment to this field is demonstrated through fellowships with such organizations as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Heart Association, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and ACRP. His primary interests lie in ethical research conducted in vulnerable populations and emergency research with an emphasis on education’s critical role in disseminating accurate information and maintaining standardized and ethical research practices. He is committed to this cause and eagerly anticipates the opportunity to help advance ACRP’s mission and goals. 

Visit the ACRP website for information about ACRP Fellowship, to view the ACRP Fellows roster, and to apply for the 2026 Class of Fellows.

Edited by Gary Cramer