18 September 2012 – Global Sample Management Benchmarking Symposium – Boston, MA, U.S.

Ball was formerly at Covance, Inc., where she served as global head of sales/business development and global head of supply chain management and logistics.

Ball has earned MBA and Bachelor of Arts degrees. In addition, she holds Six Sigma Green Belt credentials and has completed Six Sigma Executive and Champion training.

Steven Sweeney has worked in clinical research operations for over 15 years. His experience spans Phase I through IIIb CNS, Pain, Inflammation, Oncology and Cardiovascular/Metabolic Disease studies. Since he began his career in research he has led or participated in a variety of technology initiatives encompassing Electronic Data Capture (EDC), Clinical Trial Management, Biospecimen Management and Customer Relationship Management.One of his goals is to revolutionize the way we use technology in the management of clinical trials. By making information easier to find, automating processes and reducing duplication he hopes to improve decision making, speed communication and make the work of study teams and investigative sites easier and more productive.

Steve is currently CEO of Integrity Clinical Services, LLC a consulting firm specializing in Clinical Operations, Data Management and allied technologies.

In her current role as Director, Clinical Sample Strategy and Operations, Deb Reinhard is responsible for driving efforts in both strategic and tactical sample planning and operations at the program and protocol levels across both the Exploratory and Full (Global) Development portfolios. Under her leadership, BMS is executing sampling strategies and support that encompass clinical trial execution, the expanding vision for the BMS bio-repository, and improving the vendor management required to support its use of specialty labs for Clinical Biomarkers and Imaging modalities.

Over the course of a 23 year career in the Pharmaceutical industry, Deb has held positions in corporate and R&D finance and strategy, as well as informatics roles in Corporate, Pharmaceutical Development and Global Development, prior to joining the Clinical Science and Operation organization at BMS a year and a half ago. In addition to extensive strategy experience, Deb is a Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Sigma Kaizen Leader, with a track-record of delivering effective process, technology and operational improvements in project/program management roles across multiple functions.

Deb holds a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Villanova University, and advanced studies in Business/Operations from Drexel University. She is a member of the Industry Pharmacogenomic Working Group (I-PWG), whose mission is to promote a better public understanding of pharmacogenomic research.

Erik is currently the Head of Iron Mountain’s Pathology Division, dedicated to the
management, storage and tracking of Lab samples. Erik has designed and developed hardware and processes for the improvement in lab services focused on asset integrity and error reduction.

Erik has been an evangelist to the Lab community for the improvement in quality and cost containment through outsourcing. He has promoted a new approach to sample management across academic institutions and independent laboratories and challenged conventional wisdom around outsourcing trade-offs.

Prior to Iron Mountain, Erik worked in management consulting, business development and investment banking.

Amelia Wall Warner, PharmD is Head of Clinical Pharmacogenomics and Clinical Specimen Management for Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Warner oversees all clinical pharmacogenomics projects, oversees policies and procedures for biosample collection and storage for clinical trial samples, and is co-chair of the pharmacogenomics Strategic Scientific Oversight Committee. She is the current co-lead of the Pharmacogenomics Integration Workstream for Merck and will be setting up the new department of Clinical Pharmacogenomics and Clinical Specimen Management.

Amelia completed a residency in Pediatric Pharmacotherapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with John Rodman, PharmD and a fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology/ Pharmacogenomics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with William Evans, PharmD. Amelia holds a PharmD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Wake Forest University. She is the immediate past chair of the Industry Pharmacogenomics Working Group (I-PWG) and is a PhRMA representative to ICH E16.