ACDM Profiles
Nickie Griffiths
ACDM Role: Chair of ACDM Conference Committee
Employed role: Manager, Clinical Data Operations, Phastar
Get to know Nickie
Hi! I’m Nickie Griffiths and I am the chair of the ACDM conference organizing committee. In my day job I am one of the Managers of Data Management at SQN Clinical (soon to become Veristat as we have been bought!). I’ve been at SQN/Veristat (a CRO) for just over three years. Before moving to SQN, I worked at Reckitt Benckiser (Reckitt), a consumer healthcare company and I got to work on all sorts of clinical trials not just on medicines but on medical devices, cosmetics, and even general products! I was lucky enough to be seconded across to medical affairs for a short while and got to see the other side of clinical trials such as protocol designs, clinical study report writing, dossier writing and research (where should our products go next!). While at Reckitt I also worked at a clinical project manager. Before Reckitt I worked at Worldwide Clinical Trials (CRO) which is where I started my career. I started as a data entry assistant (back in the days of a paper CRF and dot matrix printer to create queries) and moved over to project management. I can’t believe I’ve now been in the industry for nearly 20 years!
If you were on a desert island, what three things would you take with you and why?
My husband, we are a team and do everything together, a Swiss army knife, always useful to fabricate things out of (I’ve seen some of the survival programs on TV!) and my casserole pot, I can cook anything in that!
If you were not in the job you are in, what would you do?
My husband and I enjoy brewing our own beer, so perhaps I’d start my own brewery or with my love of skiing perhaps I’d buy a chalet in the Austrian mountains, ski all day and cook food for my guests in the evening.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
I have a super busy life and don’t know the meaning of relaxing! My husband runs in the British Hillclimb Championship with his single seater racing car and I spend most of my weekends over the summer trekking to different parts of the UK (including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands) to be his pit crew, caterer, mental coach, etc. One of the skills of a data manager is attention to detail and this comes in very handy as when you are prepping a racing car you need to check for any tiny changes, such as a slight scuff on a wire that could indicate it has got caught, or a slight bit of oil that could indicate a crack or leak.
I prefer something a bit more sedate as I love gardening and growing my own fruit and vegetables, which I love turning into a good meal. I also love hiking, skiing, and yoga. Not content with being on one committee I am also on the committee for my local Women’s institute as their social’s secretary organizing events for them such as beer tasting, theater trips, afternoon tea, murder mystery nights, you name it!
If you had a dinner party, and could invite 1 famous person, who would you invite and why?
Bear Grylls- I think he would have some interesting stories and perhaps he could give me some survival tips for when I’m stuck on that desert island!
What is your favourite food?
my current favourite is homemade pizza including making my own dough and fresh tomato sauce!
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
Through work I’ve been to some interesting places to visit sites of clinical trials. I’ve done studies in places such as Georgia and was taken out for a meal by the head of Cardiology where we got to try lots of local Georgian dishes and I walked out of the restaurant so full I thought I’d never eat again. I’ve been to Russia where after several vodka’s our host at the CRO insisted on driving us back to the hotel as it was snowing heavily. I’ve done studies out in Brazil, where the hotel check-in scared me half to death when he provided me with a map of the local area with a big red line on it and told me that under no circumstances should I cross the line as I was in danger of “a bad death”, to probably my favourite which was to China. I visited all over China through a series of studies we were running out there from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou to various smaller towns. China is so different from Europe. The people are really friendly, and it was really interesting to learn about their culture. The translator we had throughout our various trips was amazing and took us to some interesting places. I’d love to go back to China for a holiday.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
The best bit of advice I was given (which I believe is a quote from Confucius) “we have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one”.
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
I love baking cakes but I am rubbish at decorating them. I started to learn sugar craft (such as sugar roses) during lockdown. If I had more free time I would love to learn how to make more sugar flowers and how to do really good icing on a cake.
Do you collect anything?
As a child I collected owls and people still find owl things to give to me. I still have a bit of a soft spot for them and if you look closely you’ll just see in the corner of my LinkedIn photo that I am holding a barn owl!
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend the extra hour?
Walking. I love escaping into nature, it clears my head.
Ian Pinto
ACDM Role: Chairman
Employed role: Business Process Manager, AstraZeneca
Get to know Ian
I have been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years and have worked for one of the largest CROs and two of the largest Pharma companies in the world. Most of this time has been in biometrics (clinical data management, stats programming).
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Having a laugh with friends/family, somewhere where the weather is beautiful, eating lots of great food.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Happy Wife, Happy Life.
If you were on a desert island, what three things would you take with you and why?
My wife, a boat, and a wok.
If you had a dinner party and could invite one famous person, who would you invite and why?
Someone like Marco Pierre White (famous Chef), well someone’s got to do the cooking….
What is your favourite place of all the places you have travelled and why?
Cuba, great culture, great music, great weather, great beaches, great food…. Ahh food again… seems to be a theme here
If a movie was made of your life who would play you?
Well Tom Cruise of course, I’m always attempting impossible stuff
What would the title of your autobiography be?
‘The Giving Man’ – Time not money…
What do you think is the greatest invention in your lifetime?
Well it has to be the internet for me
Bertrand Le Bourgeois
ACDM Role: Vice-Chair of ACDM
Employed role: CEO, PharMarketing GDPR Life Sciences
Get to know Bertrand
Bertrand Le Bourgeois graduated as an engineer from Ecole Centrale in France, with a marketing specialisation from HEC Business School. He has spent his career in Management and IT Consulting, in the healthcare and life science industries at major service providers for Clinical Research and Data Management, and as CIO for a key manufacturer.
Now Bertrand runs PharMarketing GDPR Life Sciences, a consulting firm which helps life sciences companies to become compliant with Data Privacy Regulation in Europe (GDPR), in the US and abroad, with Good Data Management and Good Clinical Practices (GCP) and with IT Good Practices (GAMP, ISO 27001). PharMarketing also provides Legal Representation in the EU and UK for Data Privacy and other EU schemes, performs CSV and audits. Bertrand is vice-chair of the Association for Clinical Data Management and is President of the French Association of Medical Professionals for Healthcare Products Industry (AMMIS).
Besides business, Bertrand is a happy father of 3 children, ranging from 15 to 19. He is a French Navy officer and holds a diploma in surf teaching and of sailing boat skipper.
If you were on a desert island, what three things would you take with you and why?
My wife, my children and our pets, because with your family you are never lost!
If you were not in the job you are in, what would you do?
Architect
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Customers satisfied
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
Cycling
If you had a dinner party, and could invite 1 famous person, who would you invite and why?
Probably Jimmy Carter for his negotiations talents and making fighting people become friends
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
When applying regulations, try to understand the spirit of it, instead of implementing as they are written. This was given by my CFO when I was a young CIO
If a movie was made of your life who would play you?
Jean Dujardin, a French actor
What is your favourite food?
Couscous from Morrocco
What would the title of your autobiography be?
A European man
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
Probably Brazil as people are so kind and enjoy life with smile even if they are very poor
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A scientist
What is your favourite song or who is your favourite band?
Very difficult question as I like all kinds of music and I’m a musician myself; all rock and roll bands from the 60s are fantastic, but probably the one I would select are the Stones
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
Speak Arabic – to reconnect with my roots in Morrocco, my native country (although I don’t have the Moroccan nationality)
Who was your role model as a child and why?
Jean-Paul Belmondo as he was living a tremendous life in his films and was always winning against the odds
What is your favourite film or box set?
All films from Hitchcock
What do you think is the greatest invention in your lifetime?
Clearly internet
Do you collect anything?
No
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend the extra hour?
Learning Arabic and Russian
Rich Davies
ACDM Role: RBM Expert Group
Employed role: Vice President, CluePoints
Get to know Rich
My connection to the world of clinical data management began when I was at university. My course was Computer Science at De Montfort University in Leicester, and the course involved a placement year in industry during the third year. I secured a placement working at Fisons Pharmaceuticals in Loughborough, working in the clinical data management department helping to implement a new system that they had recently acquired, called Clintrial. Having finished my degree I went back to work at Fisons before joining the company (BBN) who had created the Clintrial CDMS system. From there on I’ve worked in various suppliers of eClinical solutions. I’ve spent a lot of time working with EDC systems (Phase Forward/Oracle) and watching the industry move from paper to electronic data capture. Along the way though I’ve had the chance to work with all kinds of supporting systems, such as Pharmacovigilance, PV Signal Detection, Phase I Clinic Automation, Late Phase EDC, Statistical Computing Environments, Clinical Repositories/Warehouses, ePRO, CTMS, Regulatory Management and now Risk-based Quality Management at CluePoints.
If you were on a desert island, what three things would you take with you and why?
A bike for exercise, a smart speaker for music and a bottle of good single-malt Scotch whisky for hydration.
If you were not in the job you are in, what would you do?
I’d run a professional cycling team.
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Being on holiday with the family – it doesn’t matter what or where, just being completely disconnected from normal life and hanging out with the kids.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
Cycling – mainly Road, but during the pandemic I also started Mountain Biking
If you had a dinner party, and could invite one famous person, who would you invite and why?
I think inviting someone a little controversial could certainly ensure lively conversation, so I’d go with Lance Armstrong.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
“Make your life magic” – written on a piece of paper by my eldest when she was 6. I still have the piece of paper in my wallet.
If a movie was made of your life who would play you?
Alas he’s no longer with us to play the role, but I think Rik Mayall could have done a good job.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
“If it can go wrong, it will go wrong” – which is a reference to some of the bizarre experiences I’ve had presenting various software solutions over the years (for example, A colleague and I had laptops stolen at knife-point on one trip, on another my laptop was trashed by turbulence in the overhead locker on a flight to Milan). I should say that these were not regular occurrences, but over 20 years there have been a few ‘interesting’ moments.
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
That’s a really tricky one – but I love Japan. The Japanese have such respect for their environment and coupled with the culture and food, it’s always an absolute pleasure to visit.
What is your favourite song or who is your favourite band?
It’s easier to say what I don’t like and there’s one genre that really doesn’t appeal, but I won’t mention it in case it offends anyone who does like Country & Western.
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
To be able to play the acoustic guitar. My eldest daughter is learning and I’m trying too, but I’m hopeless.
Who was your role model as a child and why?
As a kid growing up passionate about flying, it was probably the W.E. Johns character ‘Biggles’
What always makes you laugh?
The kids
What is your favourite film or box set?
The biggest TV event for me is the Tour De France every year. The challenge is to be able to watch it every day for 3 weeks without life getting in the way, as it’s a nightmare to avoid the media and social media updates that can spoil the results before you get the chance to watch it.
What do you think is the greatest invention in your lifetime?
Well the Internet is going to get a lot of votes here, so I’ll go with something different. I think I’ll choose the pinnacle of style, speed and sophistication – which is either Concorde, or the Austin Allegro.
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend the extra hour?
Another hour spent hanging out with the kids please!
Tracey Lavery
ACDM Role: Chair, Training Committee
Employed role: Manager, Data Management, Labcorp
Get to know Tracey
Share with us a brief summary of your education and work experience to date
I have been in the pharma industry for around 25 yrs and have recently taken on a managers role in external data services at Labcorp. I’m planning to use my vast DM knowledge to develop my team and deliver good quality external data for clinical trials. I started my career as a CRF designer when paper was used and later move in to DM, I joined the ACDM training committee to share knowledge with DM’s past & present and also participate in the eDigital DMEG.
If you were not in the job you are in, what would you do?
Tracey: Police officer or border control officer
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Tracey: Warm sunshine, good company and excellent food
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
Tracey: Yoga and long walks around the country
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Tracey: If you don’t know don’t be afraid to ask, you”re not expected to know everything all the time.
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
Tracey: Maldives – paradise
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Tracey: Hairdresser but glad I didn’t. Not sure I would have stayed in the job
What is your favourite song or who is your favourite band?
Tracey: Faith, George Michael and You don’t know me, Armand Van Helden
What always makes you laugh?
Tracey: My husband, he has this pact to make me laugh as least once a day from the day we got married in 1989
What is your favourite film or box set?
Tracey: Beverly Hills Cop (1&2) and Shot in the Dark (Peter Sellers)
What do you think is the greatest invention in your lifetime?
Tracey: iPhone, love an app
Do you collect anything?
Tracey: No, but hubby says I collect candles
Hanneke Lankheet-Buiel
ACDM Role: Board Member
Employed role: Team Leader, Nutricia Research
Get to know Hanneke
Provide a brief summary of your education and work experience to date
Hanneke: I have been with Danone Nutricia Research for over 17 years and before this worked for a CRO in the Netherlands. Back in the days we did everything from data management, to programming and statistics
If you were not in the job you are in, what would you do?
Hanneke: Travelling around the world by bike, train, bus; visiting friends and relatives
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
Hanneke: At the University I joined the student rowing club, and nowadays I like to use the Concept2 Ergometer for rowing “on land”. I also love hiking and cycling during holidays.
What is your favourite food?
Hanneke: I cannot choose between Sushi and Indian food…
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
Hanneke: For people who know me, it is no surprise, India. I worked in Hyderabad, India to complete the work for my PhD and India is without a doubt my favourite place to go to. I can recommend the Taj Mahal, but also Jaipur, the ‘Pink City’, the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, in the heart of the Thar Desert.
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
Hanneke: I am making an effort to learn Hindi, and I wish I were fluent in it.
What always makes you laugh?
Hanneke: When I happen to see an old episode of Fawlty Towers, it still makes me laugh….
Jo Marshall
ACDM Role: Treasurer & Board Member
Employed role: Head of Data Management, Phastar
Get to know Jo
Professional Background
I started my career as a Zoology and Statistics graduate working in data management for a Pharmaceutical company and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do an MSc in Clinical Data Management while I was there. After around 8 years redundancy forced me to look for a new role and I took a risk and joined a very small Biometrics consultancy company and helped to develop that company, ultimately taking on the role of Managing Director and managing the sale of the company to a larger Biometrics specialist. After various management roles with that new company, including supporting Programming and FSP teams I decided to move back into Data Management, hence the move to my current role at Phastar.
Q&As
If you were on a desert Island what three things would you take with you and why?
Scuba diving kit (which is something I used to love and never find time for any more); my kindle (well stocked with books) and my family.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
Most of my spare time is spent riding or looking after the thoroughbred horse that I share with my daughter, however I also enjoy walking with my husband so try to find time to explore the Chiltern Hills and other places further afield whenever I can.
What is your favourite food ?
Anything my brother-in-law makes – he is a great chef.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
“Left a bit, right a bit” – My husband and I made the decision to fulfil a childhood dream of his which was to own a combine harvester, however to make the dream come true we had to buy a (very small) farm first – for arable production (no animals for us). Eventually we get to our first ever harvest, and my husband says “I’m driving the combine – you’ll have to drive the tractor with the grain trailer”. This was fine while going forwards, and even while offloading the wheat from the combine – mainly because I refused to do it while on the move, (have you seen that episode of Clarkson’s farm??!!). However reversing the trailer into the barn and then negotiating round the grain walls so I can put the crop in the specific grain bin for wheat, well that wasn’t so easy. The first time I tried it took well over half an hour and an awful lot of “left a bit, right a bit” as well as back and forward, before I finally got it right. Only to find I wasn’t strong enough to release the lever on the back of the trailer, and needed to call in the help of my husband, and a sledgehammer. A few years later and I’m much better at it, however that first one each year still takes far longer than it should!
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
It is difficult to choose between the USA or the Phillipines, but I would probably choose the USA because of it’s diversity.
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
I always wanted to learn to fly a plane, but I have developed a dislike for heights as I’ve got older so perhaps this is no longer the best choice? Instead I’ll go for baking, which I avoid because the few time I have attempted cakes they have always been very disappointing.
What is your favourite film or box set?
I like historical novels and productions, so Pride and Prejudice (either the film or BBC series) and Bernard Cornwall’s The Last Kingdom.
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend the extra hour?
Sleeping!
Robert King
ACDM Role: Board Member
Employed role: Executive Director, Functional Service Partnership Solutions, PPD
Get to know Robert
Background
I’m an Executive Director responsible for PPD’s Functional Service Partnership Solutions. Providing global account leadership and strategic direction for sponsor-specific customized solutions supporting clinical development. I’m also a coach as well as leader who is passionate about bringing individuals with different skills sets to create high functioning teams while providing opportunities for them to case study their skills, learn new ones, to fulfil their potential and achieve their personal goals. I’ve been at PPD since 2012 and have over 29 years of experience, working in both large and small biopharma companies, developing and managing large national and global teams in Data Management, Biostatistics, Programming, and clinical development support functions. In all these roles I’ve been a key driver in developing and implementing corporate strategic direction across clinical development and eClinical technologies as well as gathering significant experience in the FSP marketplace.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
I like to be reasonably fit so do triathlons (running, cycling, and swimming), along with spending time in my garden and reading paper “real” books.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
In my office I’ve a small picture with the words “Work precedes success in every place in life but in the dictionary” which really resonates with me, but it took me until I was in my very late teens before I realised this.
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
I’m a bit of a traveller and have a need to see and experience new places. I’ve no one single favourite place having visited over 60 countries to date, but locations that I have an emotional tie to are: Sydney (Australia), Paris (France), Salamanca (Spain) and South Africa. My most amazing experience was very briefly looking into the eyes of a Mountain Gorilla Silverback in Uganda and feeling humbled and privileged to be in the presence of such a magnificent animal along with his family.
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
I need to improve my culinary skills and move from cooking roast dinners and curries to making the delicious looking recipes in the numerous cookbooks from around the world my wife and I have collected over the years.
Who was your role model as a child and why?
My best friend’s father, through those difficult teenage years, because he helped me understand those valuable lessons my father was trying to get across to me.
What always makes you laugh?
Corny jokes. “Why did the orange stop running, because it ran out of juice”. How can you not laugh at that!!!
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend the extra hour?
With my wife and kids.
Silvia Perez Torres
ACDM Role: Regulatory Considerations Expert Group DMEG Chair
Employed role: Associate Director, Clinical Quality Compliance, AstraZeneca
Get to know Silvia
Provide a brief summary of your education and work experience to date
I have a PH degree in Pharmaceutical sciences by the Barcelona University. I started my career as a researcher in Neurochemical department within the Barcelona Biomedical Research Institute (IIBB), where I developed my PH degree focused in Alzheimer’s disease and Inflammation.
Once I completed my Ph Degree in Neuroscience, I moved to the clinical industry, working the majority of my career in Data Management, first in a small CRO company and later in the pharma industry.
For along almost 12 years, I was managing phase III clinical trials acting as Global Data Manager Lead, coordinating end-to-end data management activities (including SDTM development) mainly outsourced to global CROs. Apart of the oversight of clinical trials, part of my role as an expert in DM was to lead standardization on E2E data and processes.
On 2018, I completely changed my role and moved to the Quality area. Since then, I’m Director on Clinical Quality Compliance. On this role, I’m providing quality support to Biometrics functions (including DM, Programming and Statistics roles). Among other activities, I’m giving quality related advice and guidance, overseeing quality issues, CAPA implementation and risk management. Coordinating and supporting audit and inspections, as well as preparing teams to be inspection ready at all time.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Always fight for your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can not do.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
For relax, I do yoga twice a week. I started during the pandemic and it is an activity that I miss if I’m not doing. It helps me to disconnect from anything. Help me clear my mind.
Recently, I have started to play golf, and I enjoy so much. I didn’t imagine that it would be the case, but spend time outdoors, it is really relaxing as well.
If you had a dinner party, and could invite 1 famous person, who would you invite and why?
I would probably invite Taylor Swift. Because she is my daughter’s favorite singer. She is a huge fan. We know so much from her that it seems that she is part of my family. So, I will pay for just seeing my daughter face when she would meet her.
What’s your favourite place of all the places you’ve travelled and why?
Berlin, I love this city. In general, I love anything related with Twenty Century German history, and for that reason, I love to walk on her streets plenty of history, but also very diverse with many different cultures. I have been there 4 times already, but I always find an excuse to go there again.
What is your favourite film or box set?
I love Comedy movies from UK, so movies like Nothing Hill, Four weddings and a funeral, Love Actually, … I have seen them many times, but it doesn’t matter to me. For some of them, I know even the dialogues!!!
Richard Munday
ACDM Role: CTU DMEG Chair
Employed role: Commercial Business Development Manager, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Get to know Richard
I started my clinical research career in 2009 with the Mental Health Research Network (MHRN). Since then, I have taken up positions at Universities and NHS Trusts and now working for a big teaching hospital in Southampton. Over the last 13 years, I have been working primarily around capturing clinical data for trials and data management. I graduated in 2022 with a postgraduate certificate in business administration from the UWE in Bristol.
What do you do to relax / what are your hobbies?
I have just started learning to play the piano
What is your favourite food?
Pizza
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Astronaut
If you could learn one new skill today, what would it be?
To be able to swim confidently
What always makes you laugh?
My two boys!
What do you think is the greatest invention in your lifetime?
The electric car