Leta Procter

I originally took a job at a pediatric clinic, and the pediatrician I was working with wanted to get into research trials, so I started out as a study coordinator in 2003. He asked if I was interested in doing this, and I said sure, I was young at that time and always interested in learning. We kind of learned together, doing trials as a coordinator, enrolling patients and their families into the trials. I had a monitor that would come and make sure I was doing my job and the doctor was doing his job. The more experience I got and the more I did, I was eventually reached out to and asked if I wanted to be a CRA, and I said sure. So I slowly transitioned over the years. I've been doing research since 2003, and I've been a CRA for going on five and a half years now. I'm truly passionate about research because my dad, before he passed away, was diagnosed with cancer and was able to get on some trials that helped him maybe be here a little bit longer. I see how research trials can be beneficial to people, not just for cancer but for other reasons too. They get access to drugs that maybe are out on the market but just not approved for what we're wanting to prove them for, or maybe they're not approved for a younger age group. There's a lot of reasons for people to benefit from it.