Leadership Team

BRANY’s leadership team brings decades of experience to the table. They also share a strong commitment to furthering the fields of clinical research and human subject protection.

 

Paddy Mullen
Chief Executive Officer
Paddy Mullen joined BRANY 2010 and reports directly to BRANY’s Board of Directors. Prior to joining BRANY Ms. Mullen founded DiscoveryOrtho Partners, a consulting and advisory firm focused on the orthopedic sector.

Ms Mullen developed her expertise in orthopedics and research starting in 1999 as Executive Vice President at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, the leading orthopedic hospital in the U.S.  At HSS, Ms. Mullen was instrumental in the creation of HSS Ventures, a technology development company focused on venture capital investment,  clinical research, product development and licensing in both rheumatology and orthopedics.

Prior to joining HSS, Ms. Mullen served as Senior Vice President of Business Development for Continuum Health Partners in New York City. Ms. Mullen received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Babson College.

 

Kimberly Irvine, CIP
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Kimberly Irvine is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of BRANY. Her responsibilities include coordinating and implementing business processes that enhance BRANY’s efficiency. Before her prior promotion to VP of Operations at BRANY, Kimberly was the Director of the Regulatory Department where her primary responsibilities were in Contracts and Budgets.

Ms. Irvine began her career in Healthcare Administration at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and subsequently obtained a position as a Business Manager for the Department of Medicine at LIJ. She has 25+ years experience in healthcare and research.

Ms. Irvine graduated with honors from St. Johns University in Healthcare Administration. She has co-authored a book on the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) called, “Ensuring a HIPAA-Compliant Informed Consent Process,” and is a Certified IRB Professional.

 

Joanne Nicholson, CPA
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Joanne Nicholson runs BRANY’s Finance Department and oversees a team of staff dedicated to the financial oversight of each and every clinical trial.  Ms. Nicholson is responsible for all aspects of fiscal management at BRANY, including budgeting, financial reporting, cash management and implementing fiscal policies and procedures.  As a part of this process, Ms. Nicholson oversees Hospital and Investigator site payments, ensuring that all payments are made accurately and in a timely manner.

Prior to joining BRANY, Ms. Nicholson was a senior manager with KPMG, LLP where she spent the first 10 years of her career servicing healthcare providers and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition, she has chaired several committees, including the New York State Society of CPAs Healthcare Committee (Nassau Chapter).

Ms. Nicholson graduated with honors from Adelphi University and is a licensed CPA.

 

Karen Roth, JD
Vice President Legal Affairs
Ms. Roth’s primary responsibilities at BRANY include drafting and negotiating clinical trial agreements, including master agreements and confidentiality agreements for all phases of clinical research. With more than 10 year’s experience in the research industry, Karen possesses a keen understanding of the legal intricacies of clinical trial agreements, and is effective at achieving results that meet the needs of all parties represented.

Ms. Roth is a graduate of Cornell Law School.

 

Raffaella Hart, MS, CIP
Sr Vice President, IRB and IBC Services
Raffaella Hart is the Sr Vice President of IRB and IBC Services. She is a Certified IRB Professional (CIP) and has been involved in research administration for more than 15 years. She and her team facilitate BRANY IRB’s oversight of research involving human subjects and assure effective IRB operations. She and her team also facilitate BRANY’s Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Services and Conflict of Interest review services. Ms. Hart had a primary role in the efforts leading to BRANY IRB’s full accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), and is responsible for maintaining the standards required by the accrediting agency. She is also a site visitor for AAHRPP.

Prior to joining BRANY, Ms. Hart was an administrative director for medical practices and several hospitals throughout the tri-state region at Financial Medical Management. Ms. Hart received a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from SUNY Binghamton, and Masters of Science in Healthcare Science with a focus in Clinical Research Administration from the George Washington University. Ms. Hart has published in relation to IRB ethics and regulatory issues in the IRB Advisor, The CenterWatch Monthly, The Monitor, and Seminars in Nuclear Medicine. She was also a contributing author for the book How to Work In and Within IRBs.

 

Carmela Shabazz BS, MS
VP, Operations
Carmela Shabazz is the Vice President of Operations at BRANY. Her responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day company operations including but not limited to defining and implementing operations strategy, structure, and processes; monitoring performance to proactively identify efficiency issues and propose solutions; assisting with the annual budgeting and pricing processes.

Prior to joining BRANY, Ms. Shabazz held various positions in the Clinical Research field including Senior Manager of Corporate Clinical Research, Senior Manager/Manager of Clinical Affairs, and Clinical Research Associate at various Clinical Research Organizations and Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Companies.

Ms. Shabazz is a graduate of North Carolina Central University where she completed her Master of Science in Family and Consumer Science. She has also co-authored several clinical research publications.

 

Rosemarie Spiler
Vice President, Clinical Trials Activation Team (CTAT)
Rosemarie Spiler is the Vice President of the Clinical Trials Activation Team, (CTAT). She oversees and assists with the day-to-day activities of study start up executed by the CTAT Department. She functions as the key contact person between pharmaceutical companies, sites, investigators and research coordinators for Regulatory, Contract and Budget issues. Ms. Spiler has over 20 years of health care related experience.

Prior to working at BRANY, Ms. Spiler was an Accounts Receivable Specialist at a large academic medical center.

 

Alex Morillo
Sr. Program Director
Alex Morillo is the program director for the Medicare Coverage Analysis (MCA) and Research Billing Compliance department at BRANY. His department reviews clinical trial projects determined to be eligible for Medicare coverage under National Coverage Determination 310.1.

Before joining BRANY, Mr. Morillo worked closely with principal investigators and research administrators for six years at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine in various roles which included data management, Research Coordinator, Supervisor and Clinical Research Management Coordinator. His career at NYU began at the Cancer Institute before joining the institution’s Office of Science and Research. Mr. Morillo also served on NYU’s Data Safety Monitoring Board and the Cancer Institute’s Internal Audit Committee.

Mr. Morillo graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Master of Business Administration.

 

Linda Reuter
Sr. Director, IRB
Linda Reuter is the IRB Director at BRANY. Her responsibilities include supervising the IRB staff and maintaining compliance with the IRB Standard Operating Procedures as well as applicable regulations. This includes supervising pre and post IRB meeting activities, expedited reviews, continuing reviews, protocol monitoring, continuing education, development of short and long term strategic goals for the organization, maintaining AAHRPP accreditation standards, policy maintenance and development, and training and mentoring of IRB staff.

Ms. Reuter began her career in IRB Administration at North Shore University Hospital Manhasset, currently part of Northwell Health. She held various positions within the Health System’s IRB program over a 20 year period. Linda formed IRB Consulting, LLC in 2012, providing IRB administrative services, training and education, audit services, and general consulting to numerous IRB programs, including BRANY and HRP Consulting Group, as well as several local institutions.

Ms. Reuter graduated with honors from SUNY Stony Brook with a M.S in Health Sciences. She holds a B.S. in Biology from SUNY Stony Brook, and an advanced certificate in Health Care Management. She published work related to her Master’s thesis on Lyme disease in the Journal of Immunology, is a contributing author for a book on How to Work With and Within IRBs, and has been a certified IRB professional since 2001.

 

Cynthia Bellas
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development
Ms. Bellas leads the business development and strategic partnership activities related to BRANY’s Central IRB and IBC services.

Prior to joining BRANY Cynthia worked at Emmes, a global CRO. During her time at Emmes, Ms. Bellas served in multiple positions including Business Development Director for Prime IRB procuring business for the entirety of the United States, and Director of Development for Emmes where she oversaw the business development for several regions including the US West, Mid West, and Canada.

Ms. Bellas served as Chief Development Officer for IRB Advisors for 10 years. Additionally, she has held the positions of Project Lead WA State Pandemic Response Task Force Lead (Testing Indicators), founding member of RAPIDTESTS.org., Chief Development Officer for Anthem Grants and Advocacy, and Manager of the Office of Sponsored Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

Cynthia is a founding member of DTRA (Decentralized Trials Research Alliance) and she is an expert in strategic partnerships, eRA (electronic research administration), fund development and process improvement. Cynthia speaks globally on Research Administration topics of Ethics, Process Improvement, and Crowd Funding for NCURA, SRA, ARMS and ARMA.

Cynthia is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, the University of Pennsylvania, The University of Washington and the prestigious Barnes Foundation.