WHITE PAPER SERIES
Increasing Diversity in
Clinical Trial Populations


In this white paper series, Signant's clinical science leaders examine diversity in clinical trials, uncovering barriers and identifying strategies to improve diversity in trial populations, and ensure high quality evidence generation amongst increasingly diverse patient populations.

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Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Trials Whitepaper

Why is diversity in clinical trial populations important?

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Diversity and accessibility in clinical research are critical issues, as the lack of equal representation and exclusion of specific population groups from clinical trials undermines the validity and generalizability of trial results.  

Without inclusive research, the effectiveness of new drugs, therapies, and healthcare technologies may not be accurately understood across the wider population, perpetuating existing disparities in social and health outcomes.

Read the first issue

Access the first paper in the series, "Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Trials: Considerations, Diversity, Accessibility, and Patient Centricity", and stay tuned for more in the series.

About the Authors

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Lauren Crooks, MSc
Clinical Scientist

Lauren has comprehensive cross-functional experience within the life sciences and information technology sectors. At Signant, she combines this experience to provide scientific consultation and support to clients on the implementation of eCOA to optimize patient care and outcomes in clinical trials. She has supported eCOA projects across multiple therapeutic areas, including dermatology and neurology, with a current focus on respiratory diseases. 

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Greta Marie de Waal, PhD
Senior Clinical Scientist

Dr. De Waal provides scientific expertise and guidance relating to the implementation of electronic clinical outcome assessments (eCOAs), and has a special focus on eDiary design and accessibility of eCOA best practices. She completed her PhD in Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University, which focused on the bacterial and inflammatory involvement in colorectal carcinogenesis, and has 3+ years’ experience in the clinical research industry. She has given scientific consultation for projects across a wide range of therapeutic areas, including  oncology, infectious disease, dermatology, and gastroenterology.

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Joan Busner, PhD
Clinical Vice President

Dr. Busner has more than 35 years of experience as an academic psychiatric researcher and psychopharmacology principal investigator and founded and directed two university psychiatric clinical trials units. Dr. Busner served continuously on University Institutional Review Boards for 20 years. At Signant she has scientific and clinical responsibility for studies in mood, anxiety, pediatrics, and rare/orphan diseases. Dr. Busner is currently Affiliate Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Bill Byrom, PhD
Principal, eCOA Science

Dr. Byrom has over 30 years’ experience as a clinical development specialist, an eClinical product strategy leader, and an industry expert in clinical outcome assessments.  He has authored 80+ publications and two industry textbooks on electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO), and his recent research includes the use of wearables and bring-you-own-device (BYOD) eCOA in clinical trials.  At Signant he provides eCOA science expertise into customer projects and company strategy.