SCRS Talks

What happens to unused medical supplies when a clinical trial ends? For years the answer was simple: destroy them. Josh Kravitz (MedSurplus Alliance) and Greg Folz (Kits4Life) join Jimmy Bechtel to tell the story of how a stack of boxes, a looming Site Tank deadline, and a crisis in the Congo turned into a program that has now impacted over 6 million lives worldwide. Greg walks through the moment his research staff refused to keep destroying usable supplies, and how that frustration became an idea that won on stage and grew into an industry wide movement. Josh breaks down how trusted partnerships and strict chain of custody get donated supplies from a research site to a clinic or classroom halfway around the world. It's a conversation about waste, generosity, and what's possible when sites push their sponsors to think differently about what happens after a trial ends.

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Dr. Tia Warrick, CEO of Lesous Consulting, to talk about what actually drives clinical trial failures and what the industry can do about it. With nearly a decade of experience spanning coordinator to CEO, Dr. Warrick brings a ground-level perspective to a problem that costs the industry billions.
The conversation covers why so many trials struggle before enrollment even begins, the difference between foundational certifications and true skills-based competency, and what it means that roughly a third of clinical trial failures trace back to workforce gaps we actually have the power to fix. Dr. Warrick also shares her take on where AI fits in, and why it is a useful tool but not a replacement for people who truly know their roles.
If your team is thinking about how to build a more resilient, capable workforce and set trials up for success from day one, this episode is worth your time.

In this episode, Jimmy sits down with Brian Burkhardt of the Oliver Patch Project and Andy Shepherd of Project Outrun to talk about the Patchwork Collective, a growing coalition of pediatric oncology advocacy organizations working to bridge the gap between families battling childhood cancer and the clinical trial world. From a "Pharma at the Table" activation at SCOPE to the upcoming Patches & Pairs launch at Give Kids The World, Brian and Andy share how relationship-building and education are the keys to advancing pediatric representation in clinical research.

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Kimberly Staeck, Head of Global Site Partnerships and Trial Enablement Solutions at Syneos Health, to dig into what it really means to treat sites as partners rather than execution engines.
Kimberly brings two decades of operational and partnership experience to a conversation that gets honest about where the industry falls short. They cover why sites have learned to tell the difference between being heard and actually listened to, what closing the feedback loop looks like in practice, and why early site involvement in protocol development is a risk mitigation strategy, not a delay. Kimberly also makes a case for shifting away from activity-based metrics and toward shared outcomes that reflect the real health of a partnership.
The throughline is simple: when sites feel valued and supported, patients get better care, staff stay in the field longer, and trials perform. If your organization is serious about moving from transactional to transformational site relationships, this one is worth your time.

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Brooklyn Montgomery, Business Development Director at Deep Intelligent Pharma (DIP), to explore how agentic AI is reshaping the way clinical research sites operate. Brooklyn breaks down where AI delivers real value for physician-led research, what meaningful adoption actually looks like at the site level, and the three questions every site should answer before spending a dollar on AI tools. The conversation also covers how mentorship and technology work together to close the gap between academic research and clinical execution, and where sites are headed as they move from execution partners to upstream contributors in trial design.
Disclaimer: The content of this article reflects interview perspectives and is intended for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute any commitment, representation, or guarantee regarding the performance or outcomes of any product or service. Actual results may vary depending on factors including, but not limited to, study design, data quality, regulatory requirements, and implementation conditions.