Management

Alycia M. Huston, BS, BA, CIP - Chief Executive Officer

Alycia has her Bachelors of Science in General Biology and Bachelors of Arts in Humanities from the University of California at San Diego. Alycia has been in the IRB arena since 1998. She has served on three IRB committees, including the Children’s Hospital IRB. She received her Certification of IRB Professional in November of 2002. Previously, Alycia also worked as a Research Associate for Cytel Corporation and Signal Pharmaceuticals.  Alycia is an active member of the Medical Device Committee at Biocom.  In addition, she holds a position on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).  She is also co-founder of Aspire IRB.

Charlotte M. Stewart, CIP - Chief Operating Officer

Charlotte is a Certified IRB Professional which she obtained in 2001. Charlotte has been in the IRB arena since 1997 and has previously served as Study Documents Coordinator, Senior Study Manager and IRB Administrator. Charlotte is currently very active in her community and has previously worked for the Community Connection Resource Center which is a grant funded non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting prisoners, parolees, probationers and adult ex-offenders for reentry into society.  She is also co-founder of Aspire IRB.

Michele R. Baptista, CIP - Chief Financial Officer

Michele has been in the IRB arena since 1991. She has vast experience in the areas of Business Management and IRB Operations. In addition, she has been a member of the Consortium of Independent Review Boards (CIRB) since 1998 and currently holds the position of Treasurer. Michele was among the first 100 individuals to receive the Certification of IRB Professionals in October of 2000. She is also co-founder of Aspire IRB. 

John Bancroft - Director, Business Development

John Bancroft brings over twenty five years of experience in the clinical research and health care fields to his position as Director, Business Development for Aspire IRB. He was Vice President of Business Development at Almac Clinical Technologies (formerly ICTI) and most recently he was Business Development Manager at the Eliassen Group. Previously he was an Executive Manager at Quatern LLC, focusing primarily on sales and business development. His many years of clinical sales experience have allowed him to partner with all levels of management within Pharmaceutical, Biotech and CRO companies. He views his clients as partners and is dedicated to creating long lasting relationships with all of Aspire IRB clients.

Prior to his tenure in the clinical trial industry, Franciscan Health System employed him for 14 years in various patient care and clinical IT roles. He was promoted to Regional Director, Clinical Systems, managing all aspects of clinical information technology for six New York and New Jersey regional hospitals. John graduated from New Jersey City University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. He is a very active member in his community.

Currien MacDonald, MD, CIP - Medical Director   

Dr. Currien MacDonald is suited to clinical research and ethics. He has been very involved in Aspire’s growth since becoming a member of the review board. He completed his Certificate in Clinical Trials Design and Management and was given the added responsibility of primary reviewer for Aspire IRB. He was appointed Medical Director joining the Aspire IRB team permanently in 2007. A broad thinker, Dr. MacDonald also earned a proficiency in hypnosis and completed a rigorous medical acupuncture training program. Dr. MacDonald used his Family Medicine board certification background and disciplined ethics to work at a busy urgent care clinic and as a contractor for the Department of Defense while continuing to volunteer his sports medicine experience as a Rock N Roll Medical Team Captain and physician for UCSD and San Diego Community College sports.

Dr. MacDonald was the primary investigator for the Correctional Medicine Consultant Network for the  San Diego division. In this groundbreaking endeavor he developed the evaluation and research arm of the CMCN giving presentations for national conferences. He continued his service to the community through volunteering as an attending physician at the local medical student-run homeless clinic.  He continues to be very involved in the review process, education, community service and writing an environmental blog and several novels.  He is in the midst of creating a new blog about healthy living.

Professional Affiliations

 

  • Biocom
  • Association of Clinical Research Professionals (National and Local Chapter)
  • Drug Information Association
  • Consortium of Independent Review Boards
  • San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research
  • Applied Research Ethics National Association
  • San Diego Regulatory Affairs Network
  • SCORE
  • Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
     
Coe Values

ABOUT ASPIRE IRB

Aspire IRB was founded in 2004 by dedicated women holding CIP certifications with more than 35 years of combined IRB experience. They were inspired to make a difference in the growing IRB industry. Aspire is a certified women-owned business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. During the past four years Aspire IRB has developed a stellar reputation in the industry and their business has increased at an incredible rate. They continue to add professionals to their staff and are poised to continue their growth into the next decade.

Aspire IRB's business philosophy is to build lasting relationships with business partners who are dedicated to research and the ethical protection of human subjects. We are committed to timely and efficient results with an emphasis on communication and teamwork.