Oncology Clinical Trial Access — Increasing Participation of Women in Clinical Trials

Ryan Brown, Global Head, Diversity in Clinical Trials, Science 37

Ryan leads Science 37’s Diversity in clinical trials business unit and serves as a strategic advisor to the industry’s first Diversity in Clinical Trials Foundation.

Ryan brings more than a decade of clinical research experience from PRA, PPD and Worldwide Clinical Trials across clinical operations, business development and strategic commercial leadership roles. She also spent more than 15 years driving diversity and high-priority initiatives for cross-functional organizations in academia, grassroots communities and clinical research, including CISCRP (Center For Info & Study on Clinical Research Participation), ACRO (The Association of Clinical Research Organizations) and WOCIP (Women of Color in Pharma.)

Dr. Lauren Powell, President & CEO of The Equitist, LLC And Vice President, US Health Equity & Community Wellness for Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Recently named among Fortune’s 40 Under 40 in Healthcare, Dr. Lauren Powell is the President & CEO of The Equitist, LLC and concurrently serves as the Vice President, US Health Equity & Community Wellness for Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In this role she spearheads efforts to drive health equity through building trust and investing in building generational community wellness in diverse under-resourced communities across the US.

For more than a decade, Dr. Powell has been immersed in broad and progressive leadership positions where she’s been unapologetically outspoken about racial injustices and health inequities. Her professional and personal experiences spearheading equity efforts in healthcare, state government, academia and public health, make her a nationally sought-after leader, speaker and consultant on all things health equity.

Kimberly Richardson, Black Cancer Collaborative

Kimberly Richardson is a survivor of ovarian cancer and early stage, triple positive breast cancer. Her advocacy ranges from serving as pre-Reviewer for the Department of Defense (DOD), serving on various advisory boards for the National Quality Forum (NQF), National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to creating educational content on cancer research and clinical trials. She has established a special commission on Gynecologic Cancer in the state of Illinois and is the current 2021 recipient of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship’s Ellen L. Stovall Award for Patient Innovation in Cancer Care. Kimberly has recently founded the Black Cancer Collaborative, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization that creates partnerships between Black cancer patients and the medical and scientific communities on issues of health equity, patient inclusion and clinical trials participation.

Dr. Shaalan Beg, Vice President, Oncology, Science 37

Dr. Shaalan Beg, MD, MSCS, Science 37 Global Management Team, comes to Science 37 from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas where he served as Medical Director for the Clinical Research Office at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer and held the position of Director Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology and Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Nationally, Dr. Beg is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the ECOG-ACRIN Clinical Research Group and has held various committee positions in these organizations. He is a graduate of ASCO’s Leadership Development Program and has been a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Task Force of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) GI Cancer Steering Committee.

Patricia Cornet, Senior Director, Patient Advocacy, Oncology, Bristol Myers Squibb; Co-Founder & Board Member Women of Color in Pharma

Pat is passionate about delivering health focused solutions to ensure access to innovative treatments to patients and advancing the careers of women and development of young girls.  She has over fifteen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is the Co-Founder of Women of Color in Pharma (WOCIP).  During her tenure in the pharmaceutical industry, she has managed complex therapeutic portfolios across multiple disease areas and lead matrix-based projects while ensuring effective collaboration across functions including medical, clinical, and commercial.  Pat is also an advocate and proponent for diversity and inclusion in the workplace as well as in our society. In 2015, Pat and Co-Founder Dr. Charlotte Jones-Burton, established an informal network of women to address gaps for women of color in the pharmaceutical industry. The organization has grown from an informal group of 30 to an over 5000 women network, with presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and other digital channels.