Meet Matt, Clinical Operations Leader

Can you tell us about yourself and your role at Parexel?

I'm Matt Knight and I'm a Clinical Operations Leader at Parexel. I joined Parexel in 2015 right out of college for a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) training program. After that, I was a CRA for about 7-8 years, working across many different indications from dermatology to oncology. That experience and a Parexel upskilling program trained me to transition to my current role as a Clinical Operations Leader. As a Clinical Operations Leader, I help maintain and manage the deadlines for clinical trials. Currently, I work mainly on oncology trials. I help the sponsors, pharmaceutical companies, to meet their deadlines and submissions to bring their products to market.

How do you generate insights in your day-to-day job?

My experience helps provide insight into what's needed to make a sponsor comfortable, maintain good relationships with sites, and keep the patient at the forefront of treatment. The sites are crucial in generating insights because they enter and clean the data on their end. We then review, package, and send that data to the sponsor in an understandable way, ensuring we can answer their questions. To help the sites, we maintain constant and respectful communication to make sure they understand what we're asking of them and that we understand what they go through day-to-day. 

How do you apply these insights to deliver excellence for sponsors?

I like to have an open line of communication with sponsors so they always know how many patients we're bringing in, screening, and where we're at with all the deliverables. We have continuous database locks and regulatory items to review throughout the studies. Being able to present the insights to the sponsor in an impactful way keeps everyone happy and ultimately brings a product to market.

What are the key skills needed in your role?

• Communication is key. You communicate across many different teams - data management, clinical, regulatory - and then report everything to the sponsor. You need to be organized in your communication and how you deliver it.
• Staying calm is crucial too. Clinical projects have many moving parts. Being able to remain calm and collected, and letting the sponsor see that you're handling everything, is very important.

Can you share a success story of when a customer felt your positive impact?

In a recent study, I was the Clinical Research Associate managing site communications and monitoring. I communicated frequently, making the client feel comfortable in a situation that beforehand wasn't handled well. My experience and expertise boosted their confidence in choosing Parexel to manage their trial. The sponsor, pleased with my work, asked me to take over as Clinical Operations Leader to run the trial. That was a personal success story - I gave them what they needed and made them comfortable enough that they wanted me to take on more responsibility.

What should someone considering your role at Parexel know about it?

They should know that it can be demanding at times. You are often the face of the clinical trial, and you're going to receive both criticism and praise. I think it's important to take all of that, move forward, and grow from it. That's a big part of being a Clinical Operations Leader.