About Us

Senior Management Team

CATHERINE VAN DOREN -EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WORLDWIDE CLINICAL OPERATIONS

Ms. Van Doren serves as Executive Director Worldwide Clinical Operations for Global Research Services. She is responsible for the supervision of the staff within Project Management and for the coordination of all projects worldwide. As a member of the Executive Management Committee, she assumes responsibility for strategic plans and objectives of the Clinical Operations Department including resource allocation, professional training, budgets, development and adherence to corporate SOPs and interface with other corporate divisions. She is also a member of the Business Development team and is instrumental in the development of project proposals.

Previously, she held the position of Senior Director of Clinical Research with Medifacts International, Inc. Prior to joining Medifacts Ms. Van Doren held the positions of Director of Clinical Operations for Celsion Corporation, Director of US Operations for the Belgian CRO, Medisearch International, and, Director of Clinical Operations for TherImmune Drug Development. She has been a Study Manager with Westat, Research Nurse Coordinator at UNC and the Clinical Recruiter for Yale New Haven Hospital and a critical care nurse practitioner.

Ms. Van Doren holds a Diploma in Nursing from St. Vincent’s College of Nursing, Bridgeport, CT and her BS in Management from Teikyo Post University, Waterbury, CT.

JILLIAN Z. LIN - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASIAN OPERATIONS

Ms. Lin is the Executive Director, Asian Operations for Global Research Services and is the General Manager of GRS’ China subsidiary, Global Medical Consulting Services (Shanghai) Ltd. Co. In these positions, Ms. Lin is responsible for corporate Asian strategy, business planning and management of all aspects of the Asian operations including budgets, human resources and study execution. Ms. Lin also serves on GRS's executive management committee. She has served as a Project Leader in several regulatory consulting and feasibility studies for foreign pharmaceutical clients and has been the client liaison for multi-national projects involving the Shanghai staff. Ms. Lin held a similar position with Medifacts International, Inc. from 1997 until the creation of GRS’ operations in 2007. Prior to joining Medifacts, Ms. Lin was the Director of China Development for Pepper International Associates of Pepper, Hamilton and Scheetz, LLP from 1995 to 1997 and a Researcher and Policy Analyst for the American Enterprise Institute, Asian Studies Department from 1990 to 1995.

Ms. Lin holds her undergraduate degree from Fudan University in Shanghai, China and MA from Smith College, Northampton, MA with additional course work at both Georgetown and George Washington Universities.

She has presented at industry conferences on topics concerning clinical research and the regulatory environment in China and Asia for the DIA, Pharma Millennium and Partnerships with CROs. In addition, Ms. Lin jointly organized and executed a GCP training symposium with the Shanghai government and has been a Guest Lecturer to the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State.

MAREK SAWICKI, MD - DIRECTOR OF EUROPEAN CLINICAL OPERATIONS

Dr. Sawicki, as Director of European Clinical Operations for Global Research Services Polska Sp. z o.o., is responsible for the management of all European projects including coordination of the project and monitoring teams. Based in the Warsaw, Poland office, he coordinates all project activities while also managing the Polish subsidiary. His most recent experience was as General Manager for Medifacts International Polska Sp. z o.o. where he was responsible for Polish clinical projects. Previously, he has held the positions of Regional Director of Premier Research Polska Sp. z o.o. and Inform Polska Sp. z o.o., and as Study Consultant for P & G Pharmaceuticals and Parexel. He practiced medicine as a Cardiologist in the prestigious National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw from 1983-1998 and was involved in major clinical studies as a Principal Investigator.

Dr. Sawicki holds his medical degree from the Medical Academy of Warsaw, Poland, with specializations in internal medical and cardiology. He is the author of several scientific articles, monographs and has presented findings at international meetings. He is a member of the Polish Cardiac Society, Polish Hypertension Society and the European Society of Cardiology.

NORMAN ELLIOTT - SENIOR DIRECTOR GLOBAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

In his role as Senior Director Global Business Development for Global Research Services, Mr. Elliott is responsible for the creation of Business Development strategies for the corporation and is a member of the Executive Management Committee. His responsibilities include establishing sales targets, managing sales growth, developing strategic account plans for new clients, managing existing clients, hiring and managing the sales team, and overseeing RFP and proposal development. He held the position of Director, Business Development at Medifacts International, Inc. from 2002 to March 2007.

Mr. Elliott’s prior industry experience includes Director Business Development, Quintiles Canada Inc. and various sales, marketing and business development roles with Merck- Frosst Canada Inc, Glaxo Canada Inc., Miles Canada Inc. and Burroughs-Wellcome Canada Inc.

Mr. Elliott holds a B. Sc. From Sir George Williams University (Concordia), Montreal, Quebec and an M. Sc. Pharmacology from the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

RALPH KASTNER - GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF IT

Ralph Kastner is the Director of Global Information Technology for Global Research Services and is responsible for the IT infrastructure and its related applications worldwide. He previously held the position of IT Manager for Europe under Medifacts International, Inc. where he was responsible for the IT infrastructure and applications at three European locations. His experience also includes management of network systems to Mercedes-Benz, Volksbank, Sparkasse and Aral/BP in Germany.

Mr. Kastner is a certified Systems Engineer – System Integration from the Academy for Information and Telecommunications in Essen, Germany.