Management Team
Our management team consists of experienced leaders who share a genuine passion for improving global health. With a proven track record in strategy, operations, and clinical trial delivery, they provide the expertise and guidance to deliver high‑quality, patient‑centered solutions.
By championing innovative approaches and building relationships with scientific leaders, our management team drives the continued advancement of our capabilities, ensuring our partners receive the very best outcomes and support.
Mary Gunn PhD, MBA, LLM, PMP
Dr. Gunn brings over 30 years of experience in innovative clinical research, having held senior roles at leading CROs, pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and academic institutions including Pfizer, BD, ICON, Brown University, and Health Decisions (Premier Research). She is an expert in corporate strategy, specializing in life sciences clinical trials, strategic partnerships, and M&A. Mary has played a pivotal role in developing FDA-approved drugs in the CNS and vaccine sectors and contributed to creating a biologic human cell line used for monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. With 15 years of experience leading sales and operations in CROs, she previously directed medical affairs and drug development in biopharma, working with key opinion leaders, CMC in manufacturing, R&D service providers, and partners. Dr. Gunn also serves on the board of directors of EWI:LSE, a publicly traded investment fund with life science assets managed by Baillie Gifford. Passionate about increasing market access to groundbreaking innovations, she has participated as a clinical trial subject herself, underscoring her commitment to advancing clinical research.
Tony Proctor CPA
With over 25 years of financial leadership experience, Tony Proctor has held pivotal roles at Lexitas, Parexel, and Syneos Health. He is an expert in financial strategy, corporate finance, M&A, global systems integration, and private equity partnerships. Tony has driven transformative growth through organic revenue acceleration, operational excellence, and the implementation of best-in-class financial practices.
Renowned for his ability to align financial strategies with organizational objectives, Tony has led major organizational upgrades and spearheaded impactful M&A processes. He is committed to advancing operational efficiency and supporting Emerald Clinical’s mission to improve health outcomes through innovative clinical research. A Certified Public Accountant, Tony holds an MBA in Finance and is passionate about delivering sustainable growth.
Michael Bishop
As the Chief Commercial Officer, Michael leads the US, Europe, and APAC business development teams, along with proposal and contracting groups. He brings over 30 years of business development and life sciences experience with companies including Cardinal Health, PPD, ICON, and, most recently, Ergomed/PrimeVigilance. Over the last 16+ years, Michael has led various CRO commercial teams including those in business development and global strategic accounts driving business strategy for large pharma and biotech companies. He also has a strong background in supporting strategic partnerships, proposal development, inside sales, and sales training and development.
Bob Hope Chartered FCIPD, MSc
Bob Hope is a senior HR executive with over 25 years of international experience across Europe, North America, and Asia. He specializes in developing and implementing people strategies that align with business goals, with expertise in leadership, people development, retention, and innovative recruitment strategies. Known for his perceptiveness, strategic mindset, and reliability, Bob excels in stakeholder management and communication that drives results and fosters collaboration. With a background in military HR, Bob has successfully adapted these experiences to build leading-edge HR capabilities in life sciences and non-profit organizations. He partners with senior leaders to synchronize HR strategies with business objectives, manages complex employee relations, and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Committed to continuous improvement, Bob leverages data analytics to inform decision-making and enhance HR processes and outcomes. A chartered fellow of the CIPD, Bob holds an MSc in Human Resource Management and Training.
Nick Trythall
Nick Trythall is the Senior Vice President of Business Excellence, leading early phase, global capabilities, project management office (PMO), and talent acquisition departments. With 27 years of industry experience across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, he specializes in strategic operations delivery, workforce management, client relationships, and process optimization. His global background enables him to develop strategies that drive operational excellence and effective team collaboration worldwide. Beginning his career in UK banking, Nick transitioned to clinical research and has held leadership roles at Pfizer, INC Research (now Syneos Health), ICON, and Premier Research. His experience across pharmaceutical companies and CROs has honed his expertise in business transformation and strategic workforce management. Nick is recognized for his thought leadership in relationship management and team dynamics, with a leadership philosophy emphasizing character, credibility, and employee engagement.
Jing Ping Yeo PhD MBA
Jing Ping leads the Project Operations, Medical, Regulatory, Safety/Pharmacovigilance and Scientific Leadership teams and oversees operational delivery for studies conducted globally. She also provides oversight to key accounts at governance levels. With almost three decades of leadership and management experience, she has overseen all aspects of a startup’s operations in Asia Pacific and led a global biopharmaceutical unit with multi-compound, multi-therapeutic portfolios. Her research expertise spans budgetary management, clinical drug development, clinical operations, project management, biometrics, medical writing, medical affairs and quality management. Currently, she serves as the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee for the Drug Information Association (DIA) Singapore, is the Program Committee for DIA-Asia and chairs the Singapore Clinical Research Professionals Association.
Kaja Rudel
Kaja has over 20 years of expertise in clinical research and holds a degree in Pharmacy and Biology – Human Physiology, with postgraduate studies in Medical Law and Bioethics. Throughout her career, Kaja has supported clinical research center networks in operational, compliance, and quality assurance areas. She has worked with leading CROs, including Syneos and IQVIA, and managed quality teams within the medical devices sector at BD. In addition to quality oversight, Kaja has successfully implemented new regulations, quality systems, and processes, while overseeing global corporate transitions and providing excellent support during regulatory inspections. As a people-oriented manager, she fosters growth and contributes to the overall success of the company. She is also deeply committed to patient safety, data integrity, quality, and compliance to help protect individuals while ensuring sponsor success in clinical trials.
Cara Black MBioeth
Cara Black has over 25 years of legal expertise in the life sciences sector, and currently leads the legal team. She brings a distinctive blend of strategic development and relationship management skills to her role, delivering practical legal advice across corporate, intellectual property, and employment law domains. Cara has successfully created an environment that champions equal employment opportunities, diversity, and safety, underlining the core values of integrity and ethical practice in every aspect of the organization’s work. Her leadership approach balances strategic business needs with regulatory requirements, providing the legal foundation necessary for sustainable growth and operational excellence.
Colin Orford PhD, BSc
Colin Orford is a senior leader and experienced drug developer with 33 years of experience across GSK, Novartis, Quintiles, Eisai, and ICON. He combines scientific strategy with operational execution and is well-networked across biotech, pharma, and the pharmaceutical investment community. With 22 years of hands-on pharmaceutical development experience and 10 years leading ICON’s Drug Development team, Colin has spearheaded R&D project teams from preclinical through Phase IIIb, transitioning numerous molecules from candidate selection to late phase development. He has deep expertise in neurosciences, particularly in depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, and sleep disorders. Colin brings strong knowledge of regulatory guidelines for US, EU, and Japan markets, and expertise in due diligence for asset acquisition and investment funding. He has successfully guided Phase III teams through NDA and MAA submissions and works with emerging modalities such as cell and gene therapy.
Scientific Leadership Team
For core therapeutic areas of expertise, we are able to provide scientific advisory support of the highest caliber through our Scientific Advisory Committee. This Committee is composed of key opinion leaders who have deep clinical trial experience and are also engaged in patient care through clinical activities, therefore their advice encompasses both scientific elements and pragmatic ones based on real-world scenarios.
Jonathan Barratt PhD, FRCP
Professor Barratt focuses on glomerular disease, multi-system renal disease and complications of CKD, in particular renal associated anemia. He is The Mayer Professor of Renal Medicine & Honorary Consultant Nephrologist and leads the Renal Research Group within the College of Life Sciences University of Leicester, UK. He is the IgA nephropathy Rare Disease Group lead for the UK National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR) and a member of the steering committee for the International IgA Nephropathy Network.
Ralph Boccia MD, FACP
Dr. Boccia is Medical Director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the International Oncology Network (ION). He conducts research in exploring the latest advances in cancer treatment and offers individualized care to patients with focus on multi-modal treatment regimens.
Chee Kay Cheung PhD, FRCP
Dr. Cheung is a Consultant Nephrologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Leicester, UK. His PhD examined factors that contribute towards progressive kidney damage in IgA nephropathy (IgAN), and his current interests focus on clinical trials in this condition. He leads a number of investigator-initiated studies in collaboration with industry and academic partners, and has served as UK national chief investigator and principal investigator on multiple IgAN clinical trials. He leads specialist clinics in glomerular diseases and in vasculitis and lupus nephritis. He is a steering committee member and active member of several national working groups, including the UK IgAN rare diseases group and the UK glomerular diseases clinical studies group.
Mustafa Khasraw MBChB, MD, FRACP, FRCP
Dr. Khasraw’s is a neuro-oncologist, professor of medicine and Deputy Director of the Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at Duke University, USA. He is interested in translating research into new therapies and at Duke, is tasked with speeding up clinical research and translation for scientists across all departments and tumor sites. He leads several clinical and translational programs with significant laboratory collaborations and is the principal investigator on first-in-human Phase I immunotherapy clinical trials in solid tumors. His research interests include biomarker development and design of innovative clinical trials to improve outcomes for patients with primary and metastatic cancers of the central nervous systems.
Herbert H. Loong MBBS, PDipMDPath, MRCP (UK), FRCP Edin, FHKCP, FHKAM (Medicine)
Dr. Loong focuses on sarcoma medical oncology, neuro-oncology, thoracic oncology and experimental therapeutics (Phase I trials). Based in Hong Kong, he holds conjoint appointments of Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology and Deputy Medical Director, Phase I Clinical Trials Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the current and founding convenor, the Prince of Wales Hospital Adult Sarcoma Multidisciplinary Team. He has conducted >50 oncology trials as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. Dr. Loong is a founding executive committee member of the Asia Pacific Oncology Drug Development Consortium and Chair-Elect, International Affairs Committee at ASCO.
Roberto Pecoits-Filho MD, PhD, FACP, FASN
Dr. Pecoits-Filho is a practicing Nephrologist and clinical investigator focused on evolving the way CKD patients are treated in day-to-day clinical practice by integrating observational research with clinical trials. He is the Scientific Director of the DOPPS program at Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Michigan, and a professor of Medicine at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Brazil.
Inna Kolesnyk MD, PhD, Senior Medical Director
Inna has both clinical and research background in Internal Medicine & Nephrology. Located in the Netherlands, Inna is involved in many Emerald Clinical trials in chronic kidney disease, working predominantly in the EMEA region as Regional Scientific Lead. Her clinical research experience ranges from observational / registries studies in the field of end-stage kidney disease and renal replacement therapy, to Phases I-IV clinical trials in different types of chronic kidney disease, including Diabetic Nephropathy and various forms of Glomerulonephritis.
David Thomas PhD, FRACP (Medical Oncology)
Professor Thomas’ research focus is on the application of genomic technologies to the understanding and management of cancer. He is the inaugural Director, Centre for Molecular Oncology, University of New South Wales; Head of the Genomic Cancer Medicine Laboratory, Garvan Institute of Medical Research; and CEO of Omico. He founded the Australasian Sarcoma Study Group and established Australia’s leading adolescent and young adult cancer unit at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Professor Thomas leads the International Sarcoma Kindred Study and led the first international study of denosumab in Giant Cell Tumor of bone, leading to FDA and TGA approval.
Hernán Trimarchi MD, PHD, FACP, FASN
Dr. Trimarchi focuses on glomerular diseases, particularly in proteinuria and podocyturia, IgA nephropathy, focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, lupus nephritis and Fabry disease. He is Head of the Division of Nephrology and Renal Transplantation at the Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires and a member of the Steering Committee of the International IgA Nephropathy Network. He is involved in many clinical research protocols related to glomerular diseases and CKD as member of the advisory board and Steering Committee, as KOL or national coordinator.
Ari VanderWalde MD, MPH, MBioeth, FACP
Dr. VanderWalde specializes in melanoma and is experienced in genomic tumor assessment, public health, tumor immunotherapy, medical ethics and precision oncology. He is the Global Head of Clinical Research at Caris Life Sciences and works as Research Faculty at West Cancer Center where he served as the Director of Research from 2014 to 2021. He is also Professor in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Memphis School of Public Health. Dr. VanderWalde has extensive experience in clinical research, including the design and conduct of clinical trials, results reporting, regulatory filing and interactions between investigators and the pharmaceutical industry.
Muh Geot Wong MBBS, MRCP, PhD
Dr. Wong’s research interest is in understanding the pathomechanism of kidney fibrosis and he has actively promoted the development of both clinical and pre-clinical research in delaying CKD progression in diabetic nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, and management of cardiovascular complications associated with CKD. He is a renal physician and Senior Staff Specialist at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney; Senior clinical Lecturer of University of Sydney and University of NSW; and Senior Research Fellow, Renal & Metabolic Division for The George Institute and at the Kolling Institute.