Leaders in innovation

Dr Marcus Stavchansky PharmD, Executive Director, Global Head Pharmacy Services. Dr Stavchansky is Executive Director and Global Head of Pharmacy Services at Fortrea, based in Dallas, Texas. With over 20 years of experience in pharmacy practice—primarily in research and development—he leads global pharmacy operations across Fortrea’s Clinical Research Units in North America and the UK. As member of the Clinical Pharmacology Services leadership team, he provides strategic and scientific guidance for Phase I/Ib clinical trials, applying his specialist knowledge to drug development, GMP pharmacy services, On-Site Manufacture (OSM) of investigational drug product to clinic dose administration, and the transition from pre-clinical to first-in-human trials. He has therapeutic experience in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and more. A registered pharmacist in Texas, Marcus also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Texas and Texas Tech University.

Darby Thomas, PhD, is the Scientific Director of Cell & Gene Therapies. She earned her PhD in Molecular Virology from Baylor College of Medicine, performed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by 17 years in industry prior to joining Fortrea (formerly Labcorp) in 2021.

Dr. Thomas has broad experience in adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy with roles in CMC, discovery, translational development, and patient advocacy for several AAV-focused companies with an emphasis on rare neurological and metabolic diseases and ophthalmology. She also has translational experience developing plasmid-based gene therapies, lentiviruses, as well as gene-modified cell therapies for the treatment of rare skin disorders.

Dr. Thomas provides specialized scientific expertise providing leadership and guidance to integrated global teams, as well as internal and external consultation and training on cell and gene therapy programs.

Carrie Thompson is a Director in Strategic Delivery & Growth for Infectious Diseases and Critical Care and is based in Sheffield, UK. Carrie has over 18 years of clinical research experience, 14 of which with Fortrea. Her experience working in CROs and investigator-led settings, includes Phase I-III clinical trial execution, delivery and strategy. Carrie’s therapeutic experience spans multiple areas, including hematology, rare diseases and IBD. For the last six years, Carrie’s therapeutic focus has been infectious diseases, specializing in CHB with expertise in hybrid and platform study designs, overseeing operational delivery at a global level. 

Carrie earned her MSc degree in Clinical Research at the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff, S. Wales and completed an executive MBA programme at York St John University, UK in 2022.Sonia is a certified Green Belt in Six Sigma and has been certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2003 and remains an active member of the Project Management Institute. She earned her master’s degree in operational management from the University of Washington. She joined our company in 2006.

Dr. Todorova is a board-certified neurologist with over 15 years of clinical and research experience in neurodegenerative disorders and demyelinating diseases. She obtained her PhD degree with a thesis on Quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease and was involved in academic and clinical research. Dr. Todorova worked as a Clinical Research Fellow at King's College Hospital, London and during this period she was involved in academic research focused on non-motor symptoms and continuous drug treatment in Parkinson's disease. She contributed to 14 publications in international medical journals, as well as 16 abstracts/ oral presentations in medical conferences.

She has been an Investigator in more than 20 clinical drug trials in Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Migraine.

Her pharmaceutical industry expertise is focused on the neurosciences across Phase I-IV of clinical development, mainly in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple sclerosis.

Based in Brussels, Belgium.

Yulianna Tymovska, MD, PhD, is Senior Medical Director based in Brisbane, Australia. Dr. Tymovska has 20 years of clinical experience, specializing in Oncology (extensive clinical experience in breast, head and neck cancer, melanoma, and gynecology malignancies diagnostic and treatment, as well as research in mechanisms of tumors resistance to anti-cancer treatment and immune oncology). 

Dr. Tymovska has more than 15 years of clinical research experience as a clinical trial investigator and medical director (monitor) providing medical expert oversight and monitoring of clinical trials, contribution and scientific expertise to study design, and regulatory documents, work in cross functional team on all phases of the studies and trials including feasibility assessments, design process, education efforts, and management of medical information. 

Dr. Tymovska earned her medical degree and completed clinical oncology postgraduate training in Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine, and PhD training in Kavetsky IEPOR of NAS of Ukraine. She joined our company in Jan 2023.

• 33 years in industry with experience in pharmaceutical and medical device product development 
• 28 years in Project Management roles 
• Career spans both CRO and Pharma/Biologics/Med Device roles 
• Project Manager/Project Director on two Fortrea home hemodialysis studies 
• Experienced in set up and conduct of hemodialysis studies

Veerle Van De Velde, MD, currently works as a Global Project physician in the IGM therapeutic area (TA). In this role, she is responsible for overseeing global trials, mostly in rare respiratory indications. Tasks include protocol development and feedback, team training, site communication, data review and interpretation, DMC and adjudication support, data review meetings, assistance with CSR writing. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and CRO industry, Dr. Van De Velde gets involved in business development activities and may also act in a consultant role as part of a molecular development team. 

Dr. Veerle Van De Velde obtained her medical degree in 1995 and worked as a sub-investigator in the Respiratory Department of the University Hospital in Ghent. She started her career in drug Development in the respiratory area in a hospital setting and spent four years doing clinical research in Phase II, III, and IV trials in asthma, COPD, respiratory infections and pulmonary oncology under the guidance of Prof R.A. Pauwels. As a sub-I, Dr. Van De Velde was responsible for recruiting patients, administering patients’ project-specific procedures, compiling CRF data, collecting adverse event information, and timely reporting to sponsors and ethics committees. She has experience in both basic and clinical research, with expertise in rare respiratory disease and IPF. Later, she worked as a project physician in a variety of indications and was responsible for overseeing global clinical trials, medical data review and team training both internally and externally.

Laura Vidal, MD, is a certified medical oncologist with extensively experience in oncology drug. She holds two fellowships in Clinical Drug Development from the Royal Marsden hospital, London and the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto. She spent 15 years in clinical and academic positions specializing in the field on oncology and drug development. Throughout her career, Dr. Vidal has authored or co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and received numerous health and research awards. Her research interests are focused on early phase development of targeted agents, molecular and imaging biomarkers and anticancer immunotherapy. She holds a thesis title from the London University in oncolytic viruses from her pre-clinical and clinical work in reovirus (Reolysin®). 

She joined our company in December 2020. Dr. Laura Vidal is the Medical Head of the Oncology group in EU. She contributes to the development of Fortrea policies involving medical, safety and therapeutics; serves as point of contact for key clients on business and studies oversight; manages relationships with investigators/sites for clinical trials, and mentors clinical research physicians and medical directors across the company.

Publications

• The Evolving Landscape in Multiple Myeloma: From Risk Stratification to T Cell-Directed Advanced Therapies
• Bladder Cancer, Loss of Y Chromosome, and New Opportunities for Immunotherapy
• Equitable inclusion of diverse populations in oncology clinical trials: deterrents and drivers
• Cancer Trials Ecosystem in India—Ready for Prime Time?
• Biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: unraveling the path to precision immunotherapy

Liang Wan, MD, PhD, is a Medical Director for Fortrea in Shanghai, China. He serves as lead project physician on clients’ drug development projects, provides medical/scientific expertise to project teams, reviews protocols and medical data, and is responsible for medical and safety monitoring on assigned projects. 

Dr. Wan has more than 25 years of experience as a physician, research clinician and medical director with therapeutic experience in oncology, gastroenterology, and hematology. Before joining Fortrea, he was Medical Director for IQVIA in Shanghai, serving as Global or Regional Medical Advisor on assigned projects. He began his career as a surgeon and clinical investigator at Shanghai Jiao Tong University Rui Jin Hospital. Dr. Wan joined our company in May 2019.

Friedrich (Fritz) Wieser, MD, is an OB/GYN who received his MD from the Vienna Medical University (Vienna, Austria). After completing his gynecology residency at the Dept. of Gynecology at the University Hospital in Vienna, he did a fellowship in Reproductive Medicine at UCSF in San Francisco, CA. 

Dr. Wieser has over 20 years of clinical and research experience in a broad range of indications including endometriosis, fibroids, menopause, contraception, gynecological cancer and medical devices. 

Before joining Fortrea as Medical Director, Dr. Wieser was a Global Medical Director at Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, GE) and served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. During that time, Dr. Wieser served as an NIH-funded investigator and sub-investigator for many gynecology studies and lead several global women’s health programs.

Reigetsu Yoshikawa, MD, PhD, is a Senior Medical Director for Fortrea in Osaka, Japan. She contributes to the development of medical strategies and execution of clients’ clinical programs and provides medical/scientific expertise to project teams. Dr. Yoshikawa has more than 30 years of experience as a physician, medical director/advisor, and professor of medicine in Japan. 

Before joining Fortrea, she was Senior Medical Advisor for Eli Lilly and previously served as Senior Medical Lead for Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma in Japan. Dr. Yoshikawa has served on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals and has authored or co-authored dozens of articles, presentations, and abstracts. She joined our company in January 2021.

Kiki Zhang, is the Senior Director of Digital Strategy at Fortrea, based in Shanghai, China. Her area of expertise within Fortrea lies in Digital and Mobile Health solutions, where she specializes in exploring the feasibility, compliance, and localization of digital technologies and solutions tailored for the APAC/China region. She supports clients and CRO study teams in developing the digital health solutions that are fit-for-purpose and practical for local implementation.

Kiki has over 20 years of professional experience in the clinical research industry, with expertise spanning Data Management, Project Management, Client Success and she possesses extensive experience with electronic clinical systems, encompassing the design and maintenance of Electronic Data Capture (EDC), electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment (eCOA), Medical Imaging, Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM/IRT), and Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS). This deep understanding of eClinical systems allows her to provide invaluable insights and guidance, ensuring that the digital health solutions developed are robust, compliant, and user-friendly.