Behind the Badge

The OSU CCTS' Director of Participant Recruitment and Retention was recently featured in a series known as "Behind the Badge", a behind-the-scenes look at the leaders of Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center. Here's a snippet of her feature.

What is your official job title?
Program Director, Participant Recruitment and Retention – The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS)

How long have you worked here? 
21 years

What is your favorite part of your job? 
I love to meet with research team members and help them consider and use strategies that we build and maintain here at the CCTS. I like even better to hear back that strategies we suggested did assist them in meeting their goals of enrolling participants for their research studies. I also love hearing from people in the general public who are looking for a particular kind of research in which to participate, and we subsequently find that study for them. 

Please describe your typical day. 
On a "typical" work day, I get up between 4 and 5 a.m. I usually arrive to the office between 6 and 7 a.m.  By 7:15, I've had at least one Diet Coke (don't judge me). I'm not a coffee drinker.  

I see an average of 40 Ohio State and Nationwide Children's Hospital research teams per month for participant recruitment and retention consults. I also manage the 614-293-HERO phone line and email box and the StudySearch site (the listing of studies currently seeking volunteers). I am an Ohio State institutional liaison for ResearchMatch (national volunteer registry) and am the National Institutes of Health-supported liaison to the Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC). Rarely a day goes by that I'm not on a conference call with others around our nation and frequently from other countries, discussing how we have built our services for our researchers here.  

There is no typical day, but after ten to 12 hours, I go home and see what's in the refrigerator. 

If you could have a meal with three famous people (living or dead), who would they be?
That's easy: Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller.  

If dinner with one of the founding fathers of the United States and its financial system and the first Secretary of the Treasury, along with the writer, composer, lyricist and actor, and the producer of Broadway's Hamilton can't secure me two tickets to Hamilton, then nothing can. Although producer Jeffrey Seller is a graduate of "TTUN," I will overlook it for that evening. 

What would your perfect day be like? 
I awake unassisted; no alarm clock is involved. The house is clean, all laundry is done, and the refrigerator is full. I head out the door for a 12-mile run, uninterrupted by any skunks (I have been seeing more skunks than cars on recent runs, and I'm done with them).  A great podcast or audiobook accompanies the run. When I return home, there is an ice-cold Diet Coke waiting. Nirvana.  

Are you a morning or night person?
I'm absolutely a morning person. The best time of day is between 4 and 6 a.m. Nothing great happens after noon. Trust me.

What is your favorite band and/or favorite song of all time?
That's tantamount to choosing a favorite child, but if I must choose: Wild World by Cat Stevens.

What is your proudest moment?
I recently completed a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike from the South Rim to the North Rim. The goal was #DontBeAStatistic. All four women and I met that goal. Over four days we carried 40-pound backpacks, had no showers, slept in tents, were greeted by 120 degrees in the canyon bottom, and experienced the effects of flash floods on our way to the top. I'd do it again.

Who is your hero?
Obvious answer: Anyone who participates in research is a HERO. The CCTS phone line to answer questions about participating in research is named after them. The HERO Line helps anyone in the community connect to studies that are currently seeking volunteers. People can call 293-HERO or email us at herohelpline@osu.edu, and we'll definitely help. The answers lie within us all. There are studies for those with health conditions and for healthy volunteers — of all ages. Study participants are the most important members of the research team.  

What was your favorite TV show when growing up?  
I'm still growing up. My favorite show is Survivor. I want to be a contestant someday, not for the prize money, but for the challenge. The goal is to not be the first voted off.

Learn more about the OSU CCTS' Participant Recruitment and Retention program here.