Addressing Barriers to Patient Community Access through Non-Profit Partnerships

Jennifer Byrne’s career has been devoted to leading organizations, building teams, and cultivating partnerships centered on advancing the clinical research enterprise to better connect patients and providers to clinical trials. Ms Byrne founded Javara with a vision to revolutionize the industry by accelerating access to research – for patients, biopharma companies and healthcare systems alike. Her passion and commitment to transforming the clinical research landscape into an integrated component of healthcare are at the forefront of Javara’s mission.As the former CEO of PMG Research and Founder of Greater Gift (501(c)3), Ms Byrne’s involvement in the clinical research enterprise has been vast across collaborations with hundreds of pharma, device, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), technology, site organizations, and other research service providers for the direct execution of over 7,500 Phase I-IV industry sponsored clinical trials. Her stellar track record for consistent and excellent quality in patient, provider and client experiences associated with research trials is but one of many professional accomplishments. As a clinical research thought leader, Ms Byrne thrives on building high performing teams and partnerships within the evolving healthcare and biopharmaceutical landscapes, leading to better outcomes for all stakeholders.Ms Byrne has been recognized as a CenterWatch Top 20 Innovator and was included in the 2021 PharmaVOICE Women of Influence. She has been the recipient of both the NC Biotechnology Entrepreneurial Excellence Award as well as ACRP’s 2018 Innovation in Clinical Research Award. Ms Byrne currently co-chairs the Racial Equity Task Force at Wake Forest Baptist Health, and serves as the Board Chair for Greater Gift, a Trustee for The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and an Advisory Board member to CISCRP. She is also an Advisory Chair for the Masters in Clinical Research Management with Wake Forest University and serves in Advisory roles with the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the Dioko Fund, and the North Carolina Biotech of the Piedmont Triad. Ms Byrne sits on the Leadership Advisory Board for the Avoca Quality Consortium and the Workforce Innovation Steering Committee for ACRP and Board Chair for The Summit School. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University.

Kushal Gohil leads Corporate Strategy and Innovation at Parexel. In this role, he is an enterprise-wide strategic partner and thought leader who implements large-scale organizational plans. Since joining Parexel in 2013, Mr Gohil has held roles of increasing responsibility and accountability in sales operations, corporate development, and strategy. His earlier career included positions in brand management, market research, and account management.Mr Gohil is a graduate of the Executive MBA class of 2020 from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Pune (India) and is a Registered Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Council of India. Mr Gohil earned masters’ degrees in Drug Development and Marketing from the University of Cincinnati.

Amanda Wright began her career in clinical research in 1998, working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at PMG Research. She has served in various roles across the site enterprise, including leadership roles in operations, patient engagement, business development and marketing. A great deal of her career has been centered on forging shared value strategic partnerships and collaborations that serve to innovate business process, patient engagement, and predictive modeling. In addition to her professional work, Ms Wright has served as a community leader, holding multiple roles with Greater Gift, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2010 to celebrate clinical trial participation. Serving as Executive Director from 2013 to 2019, she remains on the Board of Directors as a strong voice for strategic program development and expansion.Ms Wright serves on numerous additional boards and committees throughout the industry, many of which are centered on patient engagement and enhancement of the clinical trial process to address current industry trends. Ms Wright is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill as well as various leadership programs.