Rethinking Rare Disease: Innovation and What's Next

Rethinking Rare Disease: Innovation and What's Next

The rare disease space is often overlooked, but it may be the most important laboratory we have for the future of medicine. Jimmy sits down with Rob Freishtat, board member of the Foundation for mRNA Medicines, to talk about what is actually driving collaboration between academic institutions and industry, what a changing regulatory landscape means for sites, and why financial viability and patient access are not as opposed as people think. Tune in now.

Built by Sites, For Sites: How Site Centric is Rethinking Clinical Trial Technology

What happens when a research site gets so frustrated with disconnected systems that they decide to build their own? In this episode, Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Brian Hunter, COO, and Florin Petrutiu, CIO of Site Centric, to hear exactly that story. Born out of CNS Healthcare over 18 years ago, Site Centric has evolved from an internal workaround into a full CTMS platform now available to sites everywhere. Brian and Florin share how their hands-on site experience shaped every corner of the platform, how they're integrating AI tools without adding operational burden, and why becoming an SCRS Global Impact Partner felt like a natural next step.

Building a Sponsor of Choice: How Keenova is Redefining Site Partnership

What does it actually mean to be a sponsor of choice? In this episode, Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Carrie Lewis and Suzy Montanye from Keenova to find out. The two share how the newly formed company, born from the merger of Mallinckrodt and Endo, is building a site partnership model grounded in accountability, transparency, and real feedback. From their site operational advisory board to a dedicated site relationship manager role, Keenova is making the case that mid-sized sponsors can operate like industry leaders.

From Averages to Individuals: How AI and Embedded Research Are Reshaping Patient Care

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with John Worden, Chief Commercial Officer at Javara, to explore how AI-driven data analysis is moving clinical research and patient care away from one-size-fits-all medicine toward truly personalized treatment pathways. They discuss how embedded research sites inside healthcare systems are uniquely positioned to put these tools to work, what end-to-end data integration means for feasibility, patient identification, and long-term outcomes, and why scaling AI in healthcare is ultimately less of a technology problem and more of a trust and collaboration problem. John also shares a real-world example of how the research process led to a life-changing diagnosis for a patient who almost slipped through the cracks.

Add-On to All-In: Building a Real AI Strategy in Clinical Research

Jimmy Bechtel sits down with Dr. Anastasia Christianson, former senior innovation leader at Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, to talk about what a real AI strategy actually looks like in clinical research. They dig into why isolated pilots fall short, how to think about AI as a process change rather than a tool add-on, and where the biggest missed opportunities are right now. Dr. Christianson also shares her take on navigating evolving regulations and paints a picture of where clinical trials are headed over the next three to five years, including a future where no trial launches without first being simulated end to end.