Elisa Cascade

A Q&A with Elisa Cascade: Chair, 2024 ACRP Board of Trustees

As Elisa Cascade, MBA, Chief Product Officer for Advarra, begins her volunteer duties as the 2024 Chair of the Association Board of Trustees (ABoT) for ACRP, she took time to answer some questions about her experience in the clinical research enterprise, some of the challenges facing it, and how ACRP can help to address them.

Professional Development of an Independent Consultant in Clinical Research

Becoming an independent consultant in clinical research requires taking a number of steps and dwelling on several considerations. This article provides a comprehensive look at professional development interwoven with the author's own experience working in clinical research as an independent consultant/contractor, including how he (and others) entered the profession, built and maintained his experience base, and launched his own LLC, along with his perspectives on professional development as it relates to clinical research.

Data Monitoring and Complex Clinical Trials: Toward a Solution

One-size-fits-all approaches to evaluating accumulating data are not feasible when working with multiple variables, whether they be multiple endpoints, multiple treatments, or both. Ensuring a robust framework upon which to base stop/go calculations is essential to protecting participant safety whilst accelerating access to life-changing new treatments. The weight of responsibility carried by data monitoring committees is not insignificant, so it is important that these complexities are worked through.

Realizing New Miracles: Gene Therapy Trends in 2024 and Beyond

There are many reasons to be excited about the field of advanced medicinal therapeutic products or cell and gene therapies. There are, however, also issues with these products. Trends in the near-term will focus on ways to address current limitations, be those due to safety, immunogenicity issues, targeting challenges, dosing issues, or regulatory and payer barriers. The article explores four areas of focus for the year ahead.