Empowering Diversity: Meet Latinos in Clinical Research

Today we have Ashley Margo, the, a clinical research associate and the co founder of Latinos in Clinical Research here with us to share a little bit more about the Latino community and learn more about their great organization. Ashley, it's a pleasure to have you with us today. We'd love to hear a little bit more about you. Hi, Jimmy, thank you so much. Appreciate it for having me here. So just, you know, a little bit on the background aspect.

So you did mention I'm a currently newly at a sponsor level now,, previously for 3 years in 0 and before then at a hybrid site. Behind that, I have about, I would say, 11 to 12 years of clinical industry experience and a lot of organization experience even prior to LACR. So,, I'm very happy to have the position I have now and the stance that I have through LACR to be able to help and, and, you know, bring more information to the community and research. Excellent. Thanks.

And I'm really excited to have this conversation with you, Ashley. So let's talk a little bit about Latinos in clinical research. Can you start us off by sharing the mission and the goals of the organization and how they support the Latino community in the clinical research field specifically?

so we're about 3 years old, so still very new., but our mission overall is just to kind of do a grassroots approach and bringing education to the community in areas of people that are barely learning about research that are not aware of research of all ages and group ranges and also to hopefully through there teach individuals that are in other industries, such as myself, when I was in the clinical industry to, learn about how they can transfer their skills over into the clinical research

industry in hopes that we bring more diversity. So, obviously hitting both ends, right? Both on the patient and and in the industry end so that we can really kind of simultaneously bring growth to both ends of research.

Some of our goals at the moment is again, just to really network, get to know the industry on the end of diversity of, you know, we're organizations,, 0 sponsors, vendors, et cetera, where they're at in diversity, what they think diversity is as a whole and,, how we can ultimately help partner and help out. Right? Ideally, though, because, you know, all of the other co founders is a total of 5 of us.

We are obviously very, very busy in the industry ourselves, whether we are working in the industry or own businesses, et cetera. And so, because of that, we are hoping to,, in the next, you know, year or so gain some more sponsorship so that through those funds, we can really, bring on more people to help elevate LACR and be able to do more of a full time approach in coming in and, Getting to know the individuals that are really trying to get more aspect of the research industry as a whole.

That's great, Ashley. And I think very, very commendable and timely for what the need is. We, we could talk probably all day about the needs of the Latino community when it comes to clinical research. So it's, it's refreshing and really great to hear that there's such a strong, supported and valuable organization out there that is trying to tackle some of those challenges and address them. And really, like you said, bring awareness to the D and I. Issues that exist for this community.

So thank you., and, and kudos to your organization. Yeah, thank you. I did want to actually mention, and I apologize for not saying this earlier,, Latinos in clinical research., we do have obviously the focus on Latinos because as,, the Population this specific group is obviously the 2nd largest in the U. S. and continuously growing right? There is obviously a need to address, especially when it comes to linger language barrier issues.

But I do want all of your followers to know that we're open to all ethnicities. We do believe that. Diversity is not, you know, boundary setting to any other ethnicities we want and to learn and grow with everybody as a whole. And also because, Latinos in Spanish, that is not the only language that we're having language barrier issues with. Right. So, those are just some of the things that,, we really like to stress very much when we speak and network to a bunch of individuals.

So,, yes, just wanted to make sure I mentioned that. Yeah, that's a valuable addition there, because you're right. you know, we don't want to pigeonhole ourselves into, any sort of particular group. And like you said, the Latino community and even the community beyond the Latino community is so broad., and it. encompasses so many different people. So thank you so much for adding that additional context.

Speaking of working with others, right, and collaboration and standing people up, how does Latinos in clinical research collaborate with other organizations and stakeholders and institutions to advance some of that representation that you talked about and boost participation of Latino community and the profession of clinical research for sure.

So,, as I did mention, I know that a lot of the focus in the industry itself right now is bringing in Latinos, but are we kind of kind of dual prong it where it's both bringing individuals to maybe participate in clinical trials, but also on the educational and through the industry and just in general, provide just free information for those that Just randomly curious, you know, and really aren't going to do either or of the two. Right.

And so,, me, Dan's Farah,, Monica, Chris solver and Judy Galindo., I'm. Fairly new compared to the rest of them,, but they have been in the industry for quite some time and have came across some really amazing individuals that are doing very niche specific things within the industry that are very heavy on the helping hand and right. And so 1 of the benefits about having and being in the industry for so long is the kind of connections you make and, you know.

Not all of, you know, those that are trying to come in the industry, have that benefit of making those connections, whether, you know, having the funds to go to the conference or in general is coming across these individuals in a particular setting. Right? And so what we're trying to do in the meantime, as we are growing is bringing those individuals that we have access to and really, you know, Give them a platform to share that information.

So, should somebody that be watching live during our monthly webinars, or later when the recording, they're able to gain that access and hopefully be connected to them through LinkedIn, or maybe an email, depending on how the guest speaker is willing to share and open their access to these members and or just, you know, general individuals,.

So, that is definitely 1 way, the way we're looking to collaborate more recently with, you know, like I said, sponsors and vendors, of course, is through the partnership aspect and, you know, highlighting their organizations and what they're doing, out there, whether it be for site level, or even just, institutions all together. But our focus really is kind of at the grassroots, right?

Because it's great to highlight organizations and vendors, but the grassroots is where the issue is on every aspect, not just, you know, getting patients and patient recruitment, but also, you know, through the industry and hiring. And I think, you guys can attest to that, right? I'm pretty sure you're hearing that, through and the networking,, the hiring part and just getting patients. It's just all that together is. Simultaneously being an issue.

So we're really trying to,, do our best to kind of hit both ends. and ultimately, it comes down to providing free information, just giving back to the community. Right? everybody needs to get back to some portion of that, giving back freely and, hopefully that will then lead to further, Thank you. I guess, collaboration that might move forward outside of that. Thanks, Ashley. One of the things that I want to key in on a little bit is the education aspect of it.

And that's so important for so many different members of diverse. Communities that are that are out there. So it's great to hear that. That is such a strong focus and emphasis for Latinos in clinical research, because that really is a lot of what we as an industry are focusing on and should continue to focus on for these diverse communities is just general education about what clinical research is and what it really means to be either part of that from a profession or part of it from.

A participant or a patient perspective as well and dispel some of those rumors and some of the misnomers or myths that exist and in clinical research and how it's not the research of of old. So it's great to hear that. That's such a focus for Latinos in clinical research. 100% and thank you and I did want to mention that for that effort. I can't speak to other organizations, but,, I know that as far as concerns because we know that education is a crucial point on all ends in.

We do not charge our members. This is also why we really highly emphasize the collaboration on the sponsor vendor and 0. and because of the fact that, we're having an issue on the industry whole to reach these individuals that don't know, right? And so in order to get there is to make it free to everybody so that people share it and, you know,, spread that information around.

And ultimately that does come back and does pay back, whether it's going back to the industry as a full or coming back to the organization. And so,, That's how we share, right? We, we make it free. Everybody is free to join and we welcome it because the more, more people that we can connect with, the further that the connection can, can continue to spread.

And so, this is why, you know, if you are listening and would like to be a collaborator, know that this is the part of initiation that you're, supporting. Awesome, Ashley. That's that's excellent. And so good to hear that. There's lower barriers to entry for the individuals that truly do need this education and these resources. So thank you for sharing that. Can you also maybe elaborate on some of what you're doing and share some success?

Success stories or experiences that,, Latino professionals who have advanced their careers, through Latinos in clinical research or through some of the work that you've put forward there. And then, you know, kind of bringing that full circle by talking about what other lessons individuals can learn from some of those success stories.

so we have many, but some of the few that have stood out that I've personally really enjoyed, when they happened was, 1 of our very 1st webinars actually,, I would say the 1st. 5th or 6th one,, we had quite a few attend and somebody pretty much came on the mic and said, you know what? I've been looking for for work for so long. The industry is needing individuals and I hear that all over, but nobody's picking me up.

I'm not getting an interview and so, you know, we asked like, where are you from? You know, if you're free sharing your zip code with your zip code and it just so happened that a few other site owners were on the call as well. And so they immediately said, Hey,. Okay. Give me your email, we'll reach out and let's see if we can all, you know, figure something out for you.

So that was that was very beautiful to me because it's your 1st example of the community itself coming together and really helping somebody. Right? Whether it was going to be either through internship, volunteering opportunity, networking, et cetera. I mean, the point is that that's the beauty of coming together and helping your community and why we want it to be free because if we have it free.

most people will join and, you just so happen to be somebody that could potentially help somebody else. So that's 1 of the beautiful things. Another thing that we recently had was, this person donated a certain amount and through this amount, we were able to get a handful of individuals through the University of clinical research and get them certified for clinical trial assistant. They had no previous background. So, through there, we were able to,.

Get individual certified and now getting into the industry market. We have heard that 2 so far have already been interviewed because it's just recently happened. So we were very happy about that and proud to know that we were able to connect with somebody that really felt. Move towards what we're doing and wanted to reach out and help. So it's not necessarily just, you know, sponsors and vendors that are sponsoring.

These are also individuals that are really being,, moved by the movement and wanting to make a difference in the industry or through this LCR community. It's so great to hear Ashley really, really cool and probably very rewarding for you and your organization to have had a hand in that and to be part of that and to be able to rise individuals up from your community. So that's really, really great to hear. And always good to hear success stories. For sure. Thank you. So Ashley? Mm-hmm.

Looking then now towards the future, what are some of,, Latinos and clinical research's long-term goals? Or I guess, how do you envision the organization's impact on the Latino community and clinical research as a whole going forward? So there's many things that we, have thoughts on, right? So we know that there are other organizations out there right now, diverse organizations that have, really gotten a foothold.

And their focus is, for example, 1 of them might be, you know, just really honing in on just, getting individuals in the industry, getting them hired, which is amazing and very great. We like that idea. And That is definitely a focus, but I think it's,, broader in the aspect that we really want to have real conversations with, organizations that are either at our tier higher,, speak with sponsors, kind of have a presence and these organizations.

Yeah, 1 of the things that we've done recently, as of last year is we were during the, Hispanic, culture month, we were able to come in and speak to really big zeros and sponsors speak to their entire organization live,, and really just hone in on, information that they should be aware of. And so that's 1 aspect, to kind of bring,.

The know and the know about the organization, but also about, the diversity and the difficulties because, we may be in the industry, but a lot of individuals, you know, we go in and out. We have a 9 to 5, to put it. And we have family. And so it's very easy to kind of get stuck in that. And so it's helpful when you have organizations like us come in and actually speak openly. We really. Thank you.

Want to connect with other organizations and come together as a whole to maybe create some sort of an industry standard, right? Because, it's, it's good to highlight,, different populations, different ethnicity groups, of course, but I do think, and I've truly feel,, speaking for myself here. That,, every ethnicity, every background, regardless of what you are is important, right? Whether you're in a minority or not.

And so I think that having this industry standard is really, really important to kind of come in and maybe if there's some huge changes happening, say, to the FDA or anything like that, you know, having an actual initial 1 main group coming in and saying, hey, can you come and speak to this group? We have all representation here. Let's let's talk openly about how we feel individually, but also how we can come collectively together.

And so ideally, that's the bigger picture that we're coming to, because we can focus on different niche issues in areas, but that is still not making the change that needs to happen on the whole in this industry. And so,. LACR really has that kind of long term goal. And that's really what we're focusing on at the moment. That's amazing, Ashley, and such a great way for us to round out the conversation.

So many exciting,, advances and strategies that, LACR is going to be embarking on in the future. So thank you for sharing those and really excited to see what you all are, are going to be doing over the next couple of years, because it's such an important group of individuals, such an important, diverse. Population for us to make sure feel included, feel valued,, in the clinical research profession and in their participation in a clinical trial.

So again, commendable job and commendable work that you all have embarked on. And I'm again looking forward to seeing some more of you in the future. So thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your insights with us today and a little bit more about your organization. Sure. Thank you so much. I appreciate it for those that are listening. Thank you.

Please do make sure that you register for our upcoming summits being held throughout the year by visiting the summit page on our website, myscrs. org. While you're on our website, be sure to also check out other SCRS publications that we have made for our community in the publications of myscrs. org as well. And don't forget to also jump over to Latinos in Clinical Research's website and Facebook page and check out the amazing work that they continue to do.

We appreciate everyone's participation in today's program and look forward to having you join us for more great content coming out soon. Thanks for listening.