Many people grow up around healthcare professionals – parents, siblings, extended family. A select few latch onto the curiosity of medicine, and Clinical Research Associate Chara Tsitsopoulou was one of those people. Chara’s career in healthcare was inspired and nurtured by her mother’s profession as a nurse. Now, Chara impacts millions of people across the globe as she works to improve patient outcomes through clinical research.
The Foundation
By the time Chara headed into her master’s program in Industrial and Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, she had already completed two bachelor’s programs; Physical Education & Sports Science and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. The exposure she gained around healthcare during her childhood propelled her into a career of helping others. “I’ve always been motivated by the idea of contributing to patient outcomes,” Chara explains. “[I developed a] natural curiosity and intuitive understanding of medical and paramedical topics.”
Chara spent most of her undergraduate and graduate years in laboratory research positions. Here, she gained research experience and learned how to operate in a controlled, experimental environment. “In the lab, precision and accuracy are essential, and that mindset has stayed with me,” Chara says.
It wasn’t until Chara joined her master’s program, however, that she discovered the clinical research industry. Working on clinical trials wasn’t something Chara had considered, but she felt drawn to it. She was searching for a role where she could use her foundation of patient care and research to make an impact on a larger patient population. That’s when she found Medpace.
Discovery
Searching for a position that fulfilled her requirements, Chara landed on the Clinical Research Associate (CRA) role. The scope of impact she would have as a CRA on large patient populations was the defining factor in her decision to claim clinical research as her career path.
Chara dove head first into this track. She continued to develop her skills – taking additional courses and brushing up on trainings – so that by the time she arrived for her first day at Medpace, she was ready to take on the PACE® program. The PACE® program, or Professionals Achieving CRA Excellence®, is a training program designed for both experienced professionals and those who are new to clinical research. CRAs are trained for real-world work through interactive discussions and hands-on practice by working directly with industry professionals.
A New Routine
“Moving from the lab to clinical research meant shifting to a more holistic, patient-centered, and operational perspective,” Chara shares. The CRA role constantly presents Chara with new challenges and opportunities, allowing her to thrive in a dynamic working environment where she grows her skillset each day.
As a CRA, Chara finds her day-to-day looking quite different from her daily duties in the lab. She spends a lot of her time traveling to sites around Greece, where she’s based, visiting sites for monitoring. During site visits, Chara completes her checklist of connecting with the study coordinator, reviewing source data, ensuring protocol compliance, and more. When she’s not traveling, she works remotely writing monitoring reports and preparing for upcoming site visits.
Chara has recently stepped into a lead CRA position where she has the opportunity to work with new CRAs and guide them through training, offering guidance similar to what she received during her CRA-in-training days. “Supporting colleagues and contributing to their development is something that motivates me,” Chara shares. “I’m very much looking forward to taking on a more formal mentoring and training role in the future.”
Follow Your Instincts
Even though Chara affectionately describes the role as “demanding and challenging,” she remains firm on her choice that the CRA role is where she’s meant to be. Not only does this role allow her to contribute to research in a way that is meaningful to her, she also feels rewarded both personally and professionally. “It’s a challenging path, but one that can be truly transformative.”
Medpace careers