On June 1, the ACTG Leadership and Operations Center (the LOC), at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston, Massachusetts, will assume responsibility for management of the Network Leadership Group grant. BWH is home to the ACTG Network Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, and to clinical research site 107, one of the longest established in the network. In a month, the hospital will also host the ACTG’s fiscal, grant management, and contracting functions, giving the Network PI more control over the group’s financial operations. The move will help the ACTG keep its place at the forefront of HIV therapeutics research in a rapidly developing and competitive environment; and an enthusiastic and committed team of six has been working closely with staff at Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., and is ready to take charge.
[The LOC team pictured top, from left to right:
Sarah Maloney, Project Coordinator
Angela Rhodes, Financial Analyst
Haley Salinas, Finance Manager
Benjamin Raynak, Contracts Specialist
Stephen Fetters, Grants Administrator
Lauren Robertson, ACTG Executive Director]
[Lauren Robertson is pictured above]
The new ACTG Executive Director, Lauren Robertson, is at its head and is a network veteran. She is a former grants administrator with the Harvard/Partners ACTG Clinical Trials Unit and returned to the network in December with an 8-year track record in research, operations, and grants management. Her capable managers, analysts, and specialists are similarly accomplished with over 20 years of experience in finance and grants management for the network. Some of the staff is transferring to the LOC from other positions at BWH, while others are new hires from the public and private sectors.
The team will be taking on the management of finances and operations for a research network of 73 research sites and 21 specialty laboratories, spread across four continents, and currently enrolling participants to 25 separate clinical trials. It is an immense task and time-sensitive work that does not forgive errors, but the LOC is ready for it. The LOC team has the enthusiastic support of BWH, believes in the network’s mission, and is happy to be part of one of the world’s largest HIV/AIDS clinical trials networks. In Lauren Robertson’s words: “I’m extremely excited to be back with the ACTG.”