Outstanding Clinical Research Staff Honored With 2025 REACH Award

By Nancy McCann

Although the red carpet, sequined gowns, and tuxedos were not visible at the annual Research Excellence at CHOP (RE@CH) Award Recognition Event, the auditorium in the HUB for Clinical Investigation was filled with an air of excitement and anticipation — as this was CHOP Research Institute’s version of an award show for professional achievement for clinical research staff. 

The RE@CH Awards recognizes outstanding individuals, nominated by their principal investigators, who exemplify the qualities and values it takes to excel at conducting clinical research at CHOP. For this award, the term “clinical research staff” includes people working in clinical, behavioral, injury prevention, community, and school-based research programs.

The event’s keynote speaker, Rachel Myers, PhD, MS, has worn many hats in the field of clinical research on her path to PI. She started as a research assistant more than 20 years ago at CHOP, becoming a research coordinator, research scientist, and eventually an assistant professor. She is now a Co-director of Community Violence and Trauma Support Programs in the Center for Violence Prevention and Associate Director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP).

Dr. Myers works to bridge the research-to-practice gap for injury prevention efforts. She does this through community-engaged participatory research efforts to promote safety and participant-centered evaluation within both hospital- and community-based settings, such as the Violence Intervention Program, research partnerships with youth-serving organizations across Philadelphia, as well as pediatric motor vehicle safety.

She shared five lessons and personal insights that she has come to appreciate along her journey:

• Every contribution across a research team has purpose and importance. “Every single member of a team plays a vital role in making our research possible and leading to discoveries,” Dr. Myers said.

• It is vitally important for research team members to become comfortable sharing their ideas and observations. “This brings new insights, unseen information, and new ways of looking at a problem or suggestions for improvement,” Dr. Myers said. 

• Principal investigators and team leaders trust their study team members. “I've worked with PIs who have trusted my skills and given me opportunities to operate at the highest level of my capabilities,” Dr. Myers said. “Those experiences have been critical in shaping my approach to trusting members of my own teams and their abilities to contribute to our work.” 

• Try out new roles to help promote growth, both for yourselves and your teams. “Study team members are continually innovating, bringing creativity to solving problems they identify in their work,” Dr. Myers said. “They also keep raising the bar, constantly learning in ways that ultimately improve our research quality, research safety, and the experiences for patients and families.”

• Find moments of levity, joy, and connection. “Without that, we run the risk of losing sight of the people our work is touching, including our team members and our patients and participants, and our very human need for connection and celebration, which has never felt more important,” Dr. Myers said.

Richard Aplenc, MD, PhD, MSCE, Assistant Vice President and Chief Clinical Research Officer at CHOP Research Institute, also shared inspiring words about the role of clinical research staff.

“It is important for us to take time out from our days to celebrate the accomplishments that you have made possible and to have this time to reflect and to be thankful for all that we have and all that we have accomplished,” Dr. Aplenc said. “On behalf of Sue Furth, the CSO leadership team, and everybody at the Research Institute, we thank you for all of the work that you do. It really does facilitate everything that we accomplish institutionally from a research standpoint.”

Time to Meet the Winners...

The RE@CH Award is divided into two categories. All CHOP principal investigators were invited to nominate their clinical research staff for one of two tracks: Clinical Research Coordinator/Study Staff or Study Lead, or Clinical Research Manager/Research Nurse. A selection committee then chose two winners from track one and a winner from track two. This year, there were 24 nominations across 19 departments.

For the category of Clinical Research Coordinator/Study Staff or Study Lead:

Jamillah Millner, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator III for the Neuroscience of Driving Team in the Center for Injury Research and Prevention

Elizabeth Walshe, PhD, a Research Scientist at CIRP and Co-leader of the Neuroscience of Driving Research Program, nominated Millner, who joined the team three years ago with more than a decade of coordinator experience at University of Pennsylvania.

“Jamillah has grown so much as a leader in this role with our team and is always open to learning,” Dr. Walshe said. “Her dedication, leadership, and adaptive processes have had a profound impact on our research and the patients and families she serves. It's a pleasure to have her recognized in this way.”

In response to her name being called out as the winner, Millner said she felt like Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards — in complete shock. Once recovered, she said, “Liz has been the absolute best PI that I've worked with. They’ve taken me under their leadership and then entrusted me with everything. I also want to thank Flaura Winston, who is our Co-PI. Both of them have just been wonderful.”

Katelynn Stanley
Clinical Research Coordinator III, in the Division of Human Genetics

Nominated by Zarazuela Zolkipli-Cunningham, MBChB, MRCP, Director of Clinical Research in the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program, Stanley has been with the Frontier Program since 2020.

Stanley was lauded for her unwavering support of their research mission.

“I am in awe of you every single day,” Dr. Zolkipli-Cunningham said. “You get studies off the ground that others feel challenging. Your work elevates our team, our program, and mitochondrial disease research as a whole.”

Giving credit to her coworkers, Stanley said she works with an “amazing group of individuals – it’s just a big team effort.”

For the category Clinical Research Manager/Research Nurse, the winner is:

Lauren Mitteer, MEd, CCRP
Clinical Research Program Manager II in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes

Nominated by Diva De León-Crutchlow, MD, MSCE, Mitteer has worked with Dr. León-Crutchlow for the past nine years and manages a comprehensive translational and clinical research portfolio as the Research Program Manager for the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center.

“Lauren is the engine that keeps the hyperinsulinism research program moving ahead,” Dr. León-Crutchlow said, as she admitted to feeling “like a proud mother” at the announcement of the winner. From working with families to schedule visits or leading the team through a successful FDA audit for the first Phase 3 clinical trial for hyperinsulinism, “Lauren has done it all and with compassion, wisdom, and collaboration. I hope she stays with us forever.”

Mitteer summed up the magic of the moment with, “I have the best boss. I have the best job. I love everything I do.”

A special thank you to the more than 50 investigators and more than 60 clinical research staff involved in this year's RE@CH Awards, as well as the RE@CH Awards Steering Committee and Selection Subcommittee.