Introduction to and Orienting Your Career in Clinical Research

Prof. Dr. Benedikt Van Nieuwenhove obtained his degree in Pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Gent, Belgium in 1991. Between 1991 and 1997 he worked as a quality assurance manager at a laboratory for medical biochemistry & clinical analysis in Gent.  In 1997 he finished his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Gent in Belgium. 

Since then till 2014 he had been working for Harrison Clinical Research. He started his career as clinical operations manager and general manager of the Benelux operations.

In 2000, he founded their own training Academy, the "European Centre for Clinical Research Training” (ECCRT) and in 2007 he became a member of the Board.

From 2008-2011 he acted as the Vice President Global Operations of the Harrison Clinical Research group. In January 2011, he was elected Chief Executive Officer of Harrison Clinical Research. In that position he was involved in the merge with Synteract to form SynteractHCR. He has been instrumental in integrating the two organisations during 2013 and 2014.

Since its creation in 2000, Benedikt has been the Managing Director of ECCRT.

Having been in the field of Clinical Research for about three decades he has amassed a wealth of knowledge and skills within this field. Over the years he has supported the Pharma Industry as well as other players in the healthcare sector by providing them with the skill sets to deal with the challenges in their job and to make them efficient players in study success.

Since 2016 he is lecturing “Management of Clinical Research” at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Ghent.

Liesbeth Lemmens holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and obtained a master’s degree in Medico-Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven. Her professional experience is a mix of 20 years working in clinical research, as a clinical trial coordinator, project manager and CRA (oncology, cardiology and IBD). In 2010, she started to work as an independent consultant for health care providers. Mrs. Lemmens is also key opinion leader in educating health care providers, clinical research associates, clinical trial assistants and (data) managers on different topics, such as: − ICH-GCP in daily practice − Audit and inspection readiness − Train the trainer − Time management in clinical research − Developments and therapies in oncology. She teaches in terms of the most-up-to-date knowledge delivered in an accessible and informative fashion, with constant updating of training materials. As a facilitator and moderator, she uses a wide range of skills and tools, from problem solving and decision making, to team and time management, coaching and communications.