Her Story
About LaShonda
LaShonda Crane is a healthcare executive, clinical research leader, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with more than 35 years of experience spanning clinical care, psychopharmacology, and women’s health research. Her career is defined by a deep commitment to evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, and advancing innovation in diagnostics and treatment across complex healthcare systems. She currently serves as a Family Nurse Practitioner at several locations, where she provides comprehensive primary care to underserved populations while supporting clinical quality improvement and interdisciplinary care delivery. She is also employed as a Meducal Research Practitioner and has served as an investigator on hundreds of studies. She began her journey in medical research unexpectedly, as a participant in a clinical trual for antidepressants when she had a newborn and no insurance coverage coverage. Her engagement and rapport with the clinical team led to a job offer shortly after completing the study, thereby launching a lifelong career in research that would span decades. She went on to work for approximately 15 years alongside a leading pioneer in psychopharmacology before transitioning into nursing to expand her clinical scope. Soon after completing nursing school, she joined Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, where she dedicated nearly 20 years to advancing clinical research and patient care while continuing her education, ultimately earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2019. During her tenure at Planned Parenthood, LaShonda served as Principal Investigator on multi-site clinical trials across women’s health, infectious disease, and diagnostic innovation at eight locations across two states. . Her work contributed to studies involving COVID-19 and influenza testing, contraceptive development, HPV vaccination and screening, and STI diagnostics, with several projects influencing updates to national Pap screening guidelines. She also collaborated with leading urogynecologists and contributed to research recognized for its impact, including FDA-approved advancements such as a home-based self-collection HPV testing device, which was named one of Time Magazine’s Inventions of the Year. She was honored with a Best Clinical Research Abstract award for her contributions to this work ( https://tealhealth-cookie-consent.webflow.io/news/a-peek-into-teals-award-winning-research ). In her current role, LaShonda is focused on early-phase clinical drug research, conducting screening visits, overseeing inpatient study protocols, and supporting safety monitoring for investigational therapies. While the work differs from her previous focus on diagnostic innovation, she continues to contribute across multiple settings, including charity clinics and private practice coverage. Her career reflects a lifelong dedication to advancing healthcare through research, improving access to care, and translating scientific discovery into meaningful real-world impact across patient populations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with LaShonda
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success in clinical research and nursing, to having amazing mentors along the way. People who were always willing to stop and answer questions, but also having leaders who encouraged me to problem solve independently and do things in whatever way worked best for me. These amazing leaders fostered both growth and self confidence in a way that promoted both my independence and flexibility.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is that if you work hard and build a fulfilling career, it never becomes boring. Healthcare is constantly evolving and changing in ways that challenge you to grow, learn, and improve how we care for patients every single day.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering this field that you can build a successful and deeply fulfilling career doing work you love while making a real difference in people’s lives through both clinical care and medical research. This industry offers the opportunity to directly contribute to improving health outcomes. Life changing knowledge is out there, just waiting to be discovered. Stay committed to learning and excellence, because the work is both challenging and incredibly rewarding.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I’m facing right now is adjusting to a new role after my previous position of 20 years ended when the Planned Parenthood facility closed due to the political climate, and transitioning from a long-standing focus on diagnostic and preventive research into early-phase clinical drug studies. While the work is still highly meaningful and involves promising therapies, the focus is primarily on safety and early development, and the timeline for seeing patient impact is significantly longer compared to diagnostic research, where advancements usually transition to clinical use more rapidly. I am also adjusting to the complexities of telehealth practice, where licensing across multiple states remains a barrier for nurse practitioners and physicians who often must obtain separate state licenses rather than operating under a compact licensing system like registeted nurses which can limit flexibility in care delivery.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My most important value is making s meaningful difference in the lives of others while maintaining a high level of, compassion and serving my community. I’ve always been driven by the ability to help patients access care they might not otherwise receive, whether through my work in clinical research at Planned Parenthood or through my ongoing involvement with charity clinics, where I have been serving since 2014 to provide qualiry patient care and long term illness support. I value consistency and trust, and I believe strongly in showing up for people that need me in both professional and personal settings, which is reflected in my commitment to mentoring, supporting families in crisis, and engaging in community outreach. Outside of my clinical work, I extend those same values through service initiatives like the “Stuffies for Sissy” donation program in honor of a family tragedy, fostering children, and supporting my own family during difficult times, all of which reinforce my belief that true impact comes from compassion, presence, and lifting others up whenever possible.
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