Latest / Mrs. PIE / Breaking Boundaries in Clinical Research: A Conversation with Latoya Hinton-Howery on Increasing Diversity in Clinical Trials

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Breaking Boundaries in Clinical Research: A Conversation with Latoya Hinton-Howery on Increasing Diversity in Clinical Trials · Mrs. PIE

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Night Dress.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: All right, ladies and gentlemen, grab your coffee because this is going to be a really, really good episode.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I am so excited.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Hello, victoria, hello, how are you Pretty good.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: How are you?
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: I'm good, all right.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: So we all know about the rapid development of new drugs and all kinds of therapies and devices, and also the increase in clinical research studies.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: There has been an increase also in participation in terms of what patients can do, and I am so excited.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: My guest today, latoya Hinton-Howery, is an absolute powerhouse.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: I know I said that in my social media post, but I actually can back that up.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: She's the CEO and research director of Next Innovative Clinical Research.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: She's got locations in Houston, texas, and Chicago, illinois, and we're going to learn about everything that her company does and her contributions to introducing clinical trials to minority populations.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: So we have a whole lot of questions and things that we want to ask you before we go any further.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Y'all make sure to like the video.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: If you're new here, subscribe, and I do want to pause and say a quick shout out to Paradec Live TV.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: That is an additional channel.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Hello everybody on Facebook, linkedin, twitter, everywhere.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: So I'll do what you need to do and make sure that we can get Latoya's content out.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: There's just a lot of really really good information that we're going to be able to get.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: So that was a mouthful.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: I am excited that you're here.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: I want to hear about you and your organization and how other businesses and physicians can partner and all of that.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: But I just want to start with just a quick introduction of who you are and how did you get into this.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: I stumbled upon it.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Well, I am Latoya Hinton-Howery.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: I am the CEO and research director of Next Innovative Clinical Research, And we're a clinical research site where we conduct clinical trials that are facilitated through pharmaceutical companies.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: So before the FDA can approve any medication, the pharmaceutical company will run trials on a medication to one make sure that it works for the indication that they say it works for, and to also note any side effects.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: So that's what I did.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: So there's a note.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: So a quick shout out to Nate, who is our road manager for this show.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: If you all want to know how to get on.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: that's who you talk to.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: I'm not the.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: it is full on Black girl magic.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I'm in my heels right now.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: So, latoya, you know, when we talked and it feels like it's been a while ago, but we talked recently about what you do I definitely wanted to ask you.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: so there's PerindecTV, thank you.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: I definitely want to ask you some of the why behind it, because when we were talking and you mentioned doing clinical research trial, i honestly because this is the mentality of, honestly, of our community I was like but there's so many, there's so many reasons to fear doing that And I loved some of the information that you shared, even breaking some of those contradictory thoughts and the fear that a lot, of, a lot of folks in the African American community have around clinical research.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: So what would you say?
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: you know, what would you say about that?
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Well, i think because my journey with clinical research as with anything, it was brand new to me.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: So I was in my master's program and my master's is in public health, so a lot of what we were doing was community based research.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: I started looking for clinical research So I learned from the very basics, very beginning.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: I'm a medical assistant by trade, so I had the clinical aspect of it And then with my master's degree, i had the knowledge base of it.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: So once I started getting into clinical research and going to the different meetings for the no-transcript companies, i saw or noticed that I was the only person in the room that looked like me.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Even the site that actually worked that was participant didn't look like me.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Why aren't there any African Americans participating in clinical trials?
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: So what I noticed was, while I was going to the meetings, that there were no black doctors.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Black doctors are participating in clinical research.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Therefore the participants are participating, or black participants are participating in clinical research.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: So what's really crazy is that I saw this vision back in.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: I want to say 20, i want to say maybe 2010.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: I saw this back in 2010 and noticed it's in 2010.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: What's crazy is, right now, the FDA has mandates and stating that pharmaceutical companies need to have more diversity within their trials, that they need to include more minority participants, but I saw this like a long time ago.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: So ever since then, 2015, i have been working towards including more African American doctors, trying to get them active in clinical research, actually showing them how they can participate in clinical trials.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: And now here we are in 2023.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: And now pharmaceutical companies are looking for people like me to help facilitate their trials, to connect them to black site owners, connect them with black sites.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: So what would you say?
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Oh, no go ahead.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: We have a little bit of delay.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, we have a little bit delay.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: It's okay, go ahead.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Go ahead, finish your thought.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: But also speaking with the community about participating in clinical trials is, like my favorite thing to do, and that's going back to the question you asked, because I started my mom.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: But when people always say I don't want to participate in clinical trial, i don't want to be a guinea pig, what about the Tuskegee experiment?
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: And I can tell you like I'm trying to be tremendous and with IRBs, with the review boards, to make sure that the pharmaceutical company and also the doctors are doing everything ethically correct so that we're not violating the rights of the patients.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: And then also, I love to use the example of a patient who may have high blood pressure and they're using Losartan.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: If your doctor puts you on the centipreal Losartan any medication they don't know exactly how it's going to work in you.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: These doctors are practicing position, they're practicing on you basically.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: So for all the patients that they have, for thousands of patients that they have, they don't know exactly how a medication is going to work in you.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: So they give you a medication.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: So like, let's say, you take this medication, you go home and you have an allergic reaction or you just react very badly to this medication.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: You got two options Either one, you're going to go to the emergency room, or two, you're going to schedule an appointment to see your doctor again.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: When you schedule that appointment to see your doctor again, you got to wait.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Once you get there, you have to pay your copay again, and so basically it's a clinical trial following you.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: There's no way to get into an appointment to see a doctor while you're on the trial.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: We're going to make that happen right then.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: And then if there's something happens to you while you're on the trial, the pharmaceutical company is going to cover that cost.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: So like, let's say, you're on some Losartan and you have, like, the worst reaction in your ear, follow up And you go to the hospital, the pharmaceutical company is going to cover that expense if they can show that it's a probability that it was caused by this medication.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: So if I'm trying something for a disease that I have, i would rather be on a clinical trial, because I'm under that direct care of a physician and a clinical research coordinator that's going to follow my care and make sure that my blood levels are where they're supposed to be.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: I think that that was, that was the thing that stood out for me, for your company, is the level of care that you give to the patients.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: because, to your point, a lot of times people sign up for this research, they run into issues, they have side effects and they don't know where to go.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: And I think y'all for for those of y'all who are watching, who are, you know, trying to figure out, like, what's the benefit?
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: why would I want to get involved?
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: We'll touch a little bit on that, but we just, i just want to clear the air before we even get into the benefits that this, this organization I can't speak for no other ones but next, innovative clinical research gives you that higher level of care and that doesn't exist everywhere else.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: That's why she's kind of taking the the US by storm right now, why I think people are really responding because they know they can come back to you and your team for that kind of help.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: So if I'm a patient, what are some of the benefits?
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: Like, why would I want to join a clinical research study?
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: So, number one before participating in any clinical trial, we make sure that you're healthy, or healthy enough to participate in a trial.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: So we do what they call a screening period where we'll do blood work, depending on the trial that you're in, do blood work, radiology whether it's a mammogram, pkg and if you're healthy enough first, then after that, then you're participating in a trial.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: A lot of people you know don't have health insurance or their doctor does not have that cutting-edge knowledge to see what's new and innovative out there.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: So when you're participating in a trial, you're trying something that's brand new, that's not out there and could potentially help you.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: So it's always worth the try.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so all right.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: So I have a couple of prepared questions because I am not wasting this one's time.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Like I said, i'm a huge, huge supporter of this organization and I wanted to find out from you, just from your perspective, what are some of the roadblocks that you run into as a CEO, as a founder, as a game changer.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: To be honest with you know what are some of the roadblocks you face?
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: you know dealing with promoting your business, promoting clinical research in our community.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: So, as far as promoting and that's one thing I want to take a step back where I'm going to do something different than what's being done right now within clinical research, because right now a lot of pharmaceutical companies approach doctors and physicians and already establish doctors offices to conduct the trials, which makes sense because they have a patient database which they can recruit from to.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: You know, let's say, we look for women who have fibroids or kids who have asthma.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: It makes more sense for pharma companies to go where they already have a database.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: So with my Houston office, that was our protocol, that's what we use.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: We use what was in the database, we use referrals, but in Chicago I'm using more of a community based research outreach where I can speak with the community and get participants that way, and so what I did was partnered up with a couple of different community organizations so that I can get the word out that way, because in Chicago it's my office is standalone, is just me, so there's not, it's not a doctor's office with an EMR or, you know, electronic medical records.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: Is me going off of the partnerships that I've made with other people and partnerships with other physicians to say, hey, this is what I have going on?
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: and Bronzeville, let me speak to your patients, let me speak to your community members.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Let me tell them about research and let them know what we have to offer.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Can you?
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about the partnerships, because I know there's also an opportunity right for physicians to work with your business.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: So can you talk a little bit more about the partnerships and how that happens?
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: So with the first of all, the partnerships with the physicians, i want to say that's one thing that's not easy for a lot of people.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: Because I've been in health care, i want to say, since 2000,.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: I've met a lot of doctors and have a lot of relationships with different people who can introduce me to other people, who then introduce me to more people.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: So to say I know a lot of doctors.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: I can just text and say, hey, this is what I got going on, what you'd like to participate.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: It's been really crazy.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: But then also, partnerships with the community is very important because there has to be a trust factor.
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: So for me to come into this community and then welcome me, to say, ok, we want you to be a part of.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: It's one thing about I have to be knowledgeable about what I'm doing And when I'm speaking to them and it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, they're like, ok, we're all in.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: And then the other thing with my Chicago location.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: I was strategically placed.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: I was looking for a location between Northwestern University and University of Chicago.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: I actually used to work at both.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: I know the research experience at both hospitals or at a university period.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: It's night and day.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Participants don't want to be heard around like cattle or they don't want to go to a facility where it's going to take them a half an hour to find parking.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: Once they find parking and get into the building, it's going to take them a good 15 minutes to find where they need to go And once you find that, then you go this department to see the doctor, this department to go to radiology, this department to go to the lab.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: It's a lot Like it can literally be an all day process at the hospital, but at my site it's a one stop shop.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: You get your labs done there, your physical exam there done, the pharmacy is there, like everything is right there, and radiology is walking distance.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: It's around the corner.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: Wow, i was very strategic about what I needed in that area.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Y'all.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to draw some of the jewels, because there's some things that you're sharing, that you're doing with your business and why you're successful that a lot of folks who are thinking about going into business need to add into their repertoire, and the value that you're providing as a business to the community.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: So I was grabbing words experience, credibility, trust, service, support and community, and I'm sure there's a ton more, but I just wanted to just pause for a second, because that is part of what's making your business stand out so much.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: It's really easy to see the value that you're providing, not just to the patients, but to your partners and to the community as a whole.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: So I want to find out, just get your business a little bit About.
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: You're doing a lot and a lot of amazing things for our community And, quite frankly, we probably don't thank you enough, and I'm personally going to do that right now because I do.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: This is a lot, y'all, what motivates you to keep going.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: That's a good question What motivates you?
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: That's my offer question And that's the thing I think, because I'm passionate about what I do, it doesn't take a lot of motivation, it's just one of those things.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: It needs to get done And I just really like what I do.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: It came easy to me And that's really different because I love speaking with other business owners And you will see, i own a restaurant, i'm a beautician, i'm an esthetic, like they have all these common things.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: And when I say I own a research site, and people are like, well, what is that?
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Well, how did you get into that?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: Like it's one of those things that I love talking about because it's not common.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: And that's what I learned to realize that I'm not common And I love being set apart from everything and everybody else And then knowing what I'm good at and then building off that.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Because another thing, with partnerships as well I have participated or got accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: I graduated this past April And that was a great experience as well, because if you're a business owner a lot of business owners they know what they're doing in the business But they don't know how to run a business.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Like I'm a great researcher But I may not be a good boss, i may not do payroll correctly, so therefore, just investing in myself so I can learn more to make my business even better, so that I can learn how to expand and learn how to have partnerships with other organizations, so I think that's really key.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: So when you're passionate about something that motivates you And it motivates you to do bigger and better things.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's a whole.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: first of all, that's a whole consultation, jewels, gems and all of that.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: And you're so right, there's a lot of folks that start business And also they don't understand the level of work that goes in it, because what a lot of people are seeing, what y'all are seeing right now, is after a year's work of research and really for real, like behind the scenes, dig it into what you're doing and trying to find the best practices for your business.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: And so I think a lot of times, when people see purpose and action and they see the tail end of the story, they don't understand the struggle that I took to get here.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: So they assume that, oh, i can do that.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Y'all can't do what Latoya's doing.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: A lot of people say, oh, i can do it.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: And not that anyone can't do it, it just work.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: And because I make a lot of things look easy, come on.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: A lot of people say, oh, i can do it, if Latoya did it I could do it And I'm like all right, go right ahead.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: But, like I said, i've started this.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: It was years ago where I started at the bottom, where I just acquired a lot of information and then worked at multiple jobs So I can see how they do it in different areas, like I left a nice paying job to go to the University of Chicago just so I can see how things are being conducted on the university side.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: So it's like you got to invest in yourself, you got to believe in yourself And I can say, when you're passionate about what you do, when you take the leap of doing different things, it's easy.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: I love that And just a shout out, bringing on from Paradek to live TV y'all.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Ok, just trust me.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Also, make sure that we'll make sure the information is in the description so you can love, like and follow Latoya.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: I absolutely want to make sure that people know where to go after this is broadcasted, and so another question I wanted to ask you is what kind of advice do you have for potential?
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, i see that I grabbed that question.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: What kind of advice do you have for potential for people who are coming into the trial?
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: what do patients need to be aware of before they come to work with you?
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: So to work with me or to be a patient?
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: To be a patient.
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: So the first thing I was telling them number one, the informed consent is like an instruction manual of everything needed in a clinical trial.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: A lot of participants will participate in a clinical trial and they just say, oh, i wanna get paid.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Of course we compensate the patients for participating, but it's also advancing science.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: So one thing I always want them to do, encourage them to do, is thoroughly read the informed consent, no matter how long it is.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: Of course I'll go through it with them to make sure they understand the gist of the study.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: But it gives information of what the trial is, why it's being done, who is being done on, how long the trial is exactly, what's gonna be done, how long, when, if they're gonna get paid or not, and who the contact that they feel like their rights are being violated.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: So one thing I always encourage any participant to read the informed consent.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: And then also, a lot of people don't know.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: You can go on clinicaltrialsgov and you can look up any participating clinical trial site and it'll give them information on what studies that site is doing.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Or you can do it the reverse way, like, let's say, i wanna look up Acne, i have Acne and I wanna see if anybody's conducting trials in my area and just type that in, type in a zip code and it'll pop up any site that's conducting that study.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's all, and then it'll show you the age ranges.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: So again, especially for us parents of teens that are going through that period, we can go in and research.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: That's powerful.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: So let me ask the question that came are these trials paid?
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: That's the big question after why I wanna be a test subject.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: So majority all trials that's conducted by pharmaceutical companies are paid.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, wow, and it ranges for different prices depending on where the study's conducted, because I can get more money in Chicago for my patients than Houston, so it depends on what the site negotiate, but on average they can get paid $50 to $125, $50 depending on what's being done at that visit.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Okay all right.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: so my other question now is because you didn't mention Georgia, where I am.
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: I know like when I talked to the first time, i was like when you come to Georgia and you talked about the partnerships that you established with different physicians, so if I'm in another state outside of by the way, are you coming to Georgia, are you gonna?
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: expand?
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: I don't know, but I have a friend that actually has a site in Georgia.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Georgia.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Yep, the site is randomized now So I know they do a lot of nephrology trials So you can look her up.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: And Dr Lovey, the stainless plug for my girl.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: And that's the other thing.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: Being within this industry, you'll find some other unicorns that may have a site.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: You know a couple of people there, a couple of people here, but when I tell you, it's not common for us at all, i love that, i love that.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: So again, y'all, here's an opportunity.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: And then you know, outside of that, my other question was gonna be where do you, where do you see your business going?
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: You know, as you're doing like a forward looking, where you know, where do you see this?
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: going.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: So that was actually a question in Goldman and Sacks before.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: One of the things we had to create was our.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: We did our financial forecast, but also seeing where is our business, what's our end goal?
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: And one thing that I would really love to do is, within the next five years, is open a multi-specialty research facility on the South Side of Chicago, like I already envisioned the space, where I wanted to be three levels.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: We're in the bottom floor.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: We're doing phase one studies where sometimes the patients have to sleep overnight, so it'll be more built out like dorms cause we have to draw their blood like every hour sometimes.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: And then the first floor would be physician suites, cause a lot of doctors wanna be private practice but they can't afford it.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: So if we have something like suites where they can come in and see patients a couple of days a week where they're not paying a full lease, you know, offer that.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: And then on third floor, my research studies.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: I wanna do DERM, women's Health, nephrology Like I want a lot of different.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: I wanna bring a lot of things to the community.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: I love that Y'all, so I wanna shift a little bit from business.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: I know you're an amazing, amazing mom for those of y'all who were talking to her daughter last week on Team Thursday so y'all go back.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: I never do this.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: I don't plug other people's stuff in into a live, but I'm gonna go ahead and plug Team Thursday with her daughter She, who I also believe that she's now my daughter, so I have to care if you're out there call y'all the mama.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: But she was just amazing and I wanted to find out from your perspective, because you're a business owner, you're an entrepreneur, you're a CEO, you're very successful, you're a community leader and yet you have managed to raise an amazing, amazing, amazing young woman.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: And what do you, you know, as a mom like?
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: what do you, what do you want your daughter to remember you for, and how do you manage the relationship doing, you know, literally saving the world?
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: I don't know, but, as you know, that's my baby.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Kyra is my baby and I was a teen mom.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: I had her when I was 19.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: I had dropped out of college.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: I was a student at Illinois State, so I was clueless as to what I wanted to do.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: So it wasn't like I'm this person now and I was super focused and knew what I wanted to do.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: I was clueless.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: So I'm with a baby and trying to figure out life.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: So the best thing that she had was a front row seat to watch me flourish.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: So she saw me work a job, get fired from a job.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: She saw me, you know, go to college, go back.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: I remember plenty of times when she would go to school with me.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: When I was getting my associates at South Suburban, they had a daycare for school for the kids and I would bring her with me to school.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: So she watched me get my bachelor's, my master's, and she was just front row seat.
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: She would see me up late doing homework and I think that's where she gets her drive from, because she saw it and she's seeing the results of hard work.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: You know, it's like you put the work in you and you get to know as much as you can possibly know, and I saw her interview where she said my mom always taught me to try to do everything myself.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: Yes, and at my site, i can draw the blood, i can consent the patient, i can recruit the patient, i can draw the blood.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: I could do everything but the physical exam.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: I negotiate the budget, the contract, i do the review board submission, i do everything.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: So for me to be able to do everything and then be able to, you know, you know, delegate, who does what it's like, i say, no business owner can run anything unless they know how to do it 100% themselves and in there for they have more empathy for their staff when things need to get done And, like I said, being able to be this woman and Mature into this person.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: My daughter got to, you know, she was with me the whole time, so she had no other choice but to let some of this, you know, rain on her.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: I love that and I love that.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: That's the part, i think, of legacy building that I really appreciate and When you can see, you can see it showing up in her and you literally can see her Manifesting everything that you're doing and she's kind of walking that purpose and walking that path and all that.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: But also knowing that she's and we're not I'm not trying to turn this into a like a pre-sus, but I can't I have to say, because this is her mom and she needs to know that she's already making such Incredible impact and I'm all about look, black women, strong black women making positive impact and influence, that's what, yeah.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: So when I recognize it, i have to call it out and just say thank you, because what you've done the way you shaped her as a mom.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: It's impacting my, my daughter, who's 14, and so we're really you know I know I said that before we came on but we're grateful for that, because that seed you planted is actually being harvested by us.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: On the other side of the country right And I can actually tell you a pivotal point, i think not necessarily in our relationship, but how she viewed life and work.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: Um, i want to say, since in 2015, when I was working at the University of Chicago, when I decided that I wanted to open my own clinical research site, i quit my job like I just quit.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: I didn't have Um.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: I told you that God told me.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Like I was at.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: I was at JFK Airport all start weekend with my friend and I was upset about something going on at work and God literally said leave.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: And I'm confused because why is he talking to me in the middle of airport?
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to have fun with my friends and for me to follow what he said and to quit my job.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: And the thing is looking back.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: He didn't say when, but it was quit now.
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: So when I got back to work, i put my two week notice in and I went on my journey to start this site and Start doing research on my own.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: And one thing that I noticed that she did not fully tell you in the interview last week Is that she did the exact same thing.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: A couple of weeks She quit her job and she's doing things.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: She actually I talked to her today and she has two other positions that she's working on her own.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: So for her to be an entrepreneur and make moves herself by herself and doing the things that I did, it's like it's really great to see.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: It's really great to see that, listen, that and I get.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: I think there's also some seeds of encouragement in here, for there's a lot of veteran business owners that are part of the you know, the whole parade deck.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: I know there's six points something million y'all out there.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: So you know, take these seeds for yourself, be encouraged when, again, we know it's not easy.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: You do have to have a plan, you have to do some research.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: You got to know how to actually run a business.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Don't go into things blindly.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Everybody stays in there lane and you'll be very, very successful.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: And you know stop and you know support the community.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: So so I have a couple more questions for you before we bounce out of here and get people back there.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: Dinner hour.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Okay, so a question that I was thinking about is is around The community and how you, because you mentioned that you work closely with community leaders.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: I wanted to just press in a little bit more to find out What are some of the groups that you work with, or how maybe can groups?
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: if you're, how can groups get in touch with you?
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: What are you looking for within the community Relationships?
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: and then my last question is like what can we do to help you?
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: Obviously, i'm telling everybody I know.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: Go go to next innovative clinical research, you know.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Make sure you, you know, you find out the information.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: Work with people who are credible and have experience and then trust it.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: But what else can we do to support you?
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: Okay, so right now I am working with bright star community outreach Wow, already established community organization where I'm just Be a part of I'm just happy that they're welcoming me so that I can, you know, assist them with with their community efforts with research, and then in turn they can help me where I'm getting the word out and inform In the public of clinical trials and research.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: And there's also another organization that I'm looking to partner with.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: It's called it takes a village Organizations in Bronzeville, in the Chicago area and also on the West side, where they work with the community to help establish, you know, a stronger family unit, and so just speaking with people about different Research methods and things of that nature.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: But the one thing that I love about research is definitely trying to decrease Health disparities, because a lot of people know that If they don't go to the doctor or they say I don't have insurance so I can't go, but offer them an alternative route because even though my doctors that I work with cannot be their doctor per se on that clinical trial, but we're following them.
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: If by chance that they get excluded from the study and can no longer participate, i can definitely give them referrals of where they can go, because now they have a connection to me and now I'm invested in them and their health.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: So I'm gonna make sure that they're connected to other individuals that can help see through whatever ailment they may have.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Wow, that is also.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: And y'all, i'm just gonna take a quick.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: Let me remind y'all in the room please like the video so that we can get more eyeballs, and keeps us, keeps the algorithm happy and make sure that we get as many people viewing this.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: We're gonna share this out.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: You know, i'm gonna be blasting on social media because I'm not ashamed to say I'm a huge fan of this innovative and I'm gonna be supporting her and I hope that you do too.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for this.
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: I think that not only did you give us information about your business and all the things that you offer to potential patients and clients and doctors and all of those things, i think you put a lot of people at ease, explaining what we're coming in, thinking about clinical research from a totally historical perspective and not realizing that y'all times have changed and there are actually resources and people out there who are trying to actually help us, and there's healthcare issues that we need to get help with, and this is one of the ways that we do that.
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: So, before you hang up, we're gonna hang out in the back room for a little bit.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: We're gonna tell everybody.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Thank y'all for watching.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Do you want it?
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Before I close this down with my fantastic outro music and the sun shining, y'all can still see me.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: Is there anything else that you wanted to share before we shut the party down?
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: So one thing that I am looking to do is make more partnerships with different pharmaceutical companies.
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: I know right now I'm doing a trial in Texas with Myovant Pharmaceuticals and also one with Pfizer.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: I've worked for AstraZeneca, but I'm still open to working with various different pharmaceutical companies so that we can network, partner and potentially get their drug on the market.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: So then, shout out to all of my thousands of connections on LinkedIn, many of whom are doctors, a lot of folks are in pharmaceuticals and different variation, especially in sales, et cetera.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Please make sure that you're tagging, tagging, loving, liking Latoya And if there's an opportunity, please, please, get in contact.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: If you can't find her, you can find me and I will direct you to her.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: I don't want any opportunities to fall along the side.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: And also, i wanna do a shout out really quickly to Dr Greg Sharla, who's gonna be on our program towards the end of the year, but he's doing incredible things here in Georgia And I just wanna make sure that he's also someone, while I'm thinking of it, that there's a connection between you and him as well.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: He's just another person who's just doing incredible things and there's an opportunity for y'all to do something.
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: So, since it's in the spirit, now I'm gonna go ahead and say And also one other thing I want to shout out another organization that I help co-found know our research collective, and those are with my friends Danielle and Lubby And Danielle was the founder of Black Women in Clinical Research and I spoke of Lubby earlier.
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: She had a student in Atlanta And what we do is we assist doctors or research site owners, We help them find clinical trials.
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: So, like I said, different partnerships with different pharmaceutical companies is really helpful because not only would they have access to me and my site, I have access to many different sites across the US.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: Okay, y'all need to bookmark her site Because I know there's a lot of information there in the one place.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: but again, if you have any questions around clinical research, if you're a doctor, if you're a pharmaceutical company, if you're an agent of change, if you're anyone within this field, please, please, make sure that you're connected with Latoya.
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: And, like I said, honestly, if you can't find her, you can find me and I would gladly make sure that you're rerouted because, listen, if you win, we all win, right?
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: Yes, of course, all right.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: so with that, we're gonna tell the people have a good night and we'll hang out in the back at the after party.
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: Yes, thank you so much for having me.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: My honest pleasure.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: Thank you, MUSIC.