Fifteen Years on Both Sides of the Table.

I run clinical operations for small biotechs, usually in rare disease, usually somewhere around their first or second trial.

My route here was not straight. I started with a degree in English literature, earned a PhD in neurobiology at the University of Washington, and did a postdoc in Tokyo (no, I don't speak Japanese, but at one point I could name all the sushi fish in Japanese) before moving to the operations side of trials.

I learned this business from both sides. Nine years inside a global CRO, working my way up from Clinical Trial Monitor to Senior Project Manager: proposals, budgets, change orders, training the project managers who run sponsor studies. For the past five years I've worked on the sponsor side, leading Phase 1s, 2s, and rare disease programs as an independent consultant.

The numbers, since you're wondering: more than twenty trials seen through from start to finish, Phase 1 to 3, in up to 27 countries at a time. Haemophilia, PKU, short bowel syndrome, Friedreich's ataxia, PNH, gene therapy, oncology. I have saved 7 figures for biotechs on their first trials. I keep four versions of my own Excel tracking templates. I know what that says about me. I've made peace with it.

I work from Lithuania with people in every time zone, running trials, managing vendors, building teams, or simply being an experienced sounding board for the passionate, brave souls who have ventured into this risky yet utterly rewarding business. I once milked a wooden cow at a client retreat. I stayed with that client for three years, which tells you how I feel about good teams.

If your first trial is on the horizon, write to me early. Early is when I do the most good and cost the least.