Feinstein Institutes’ Dr. Christina Brennan honored with Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award

MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northwell Health and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research’s Christina Brennan, MD, senior vice president of clinical research, has received the Clinical Trial Europe’s Christine Pierre Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication to leading innovative, equitable and clinically meaningful clinical trials throughout her career and particularly her leadership in rolling out some of the first national COVID-19 clinical trials in 2020. Dr. Brennan received news of her honor and accepted the award during a ceremony at the Clinical Trials Europe conference on Nov. 30 in Barcelona, Spain.

“Clinical trials are the cornerstone of medical and scientific progress, where an idea transforms into evidence and innovation becomes a reality,” said Dr. Brennan. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to do a job that I love every day, together with colleagues across the globe, to make a lasting impact on clinical research and ultimately improve patients’ lives.”

The Christine Pierre Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award is a globally recognized accolade presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation and dedication in the realm of clinical trials. Christine Pierre is the inspiration for this lifetime achievement award. Pierre, who passed away in 2018, was an industry leader who founded the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) in response to the growing need for an organization to represent the needs of the global research community.

Dr. Brennan has more than 23 years of extensive clinical research experience, including over 18 years in clinical research management roles. In 2019, she was elected to the board of trustees for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). She is the incoming vice chair for the ACRP board of trustees for 2024. She is also on the steering committee of the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative (CTTI) with Duke University and the FDA.

Just days after the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic and at the height of its first wave, Dr. Brennan, along with leaders within Northwell Health and the Feinstein Institutes, successfully initiated some of the first national clinical trials within days. Throughout the pandemic Dr. Brennan, led nearly 20 clinical trials and projects undertaken across the health system, enrolling more than 1,900 participants, including standing up the health system’s very first full-remote, virtual clinical trial.

“Dr. Brennan’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond enabled Feinstein Institutes and Northwell Health investigators to pioneer advances in clinical and translational research,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. “This lifetime achievement award to Dr. Brennan is a tribute and high honor celebrating her excellence in clinical trial performance.”

Dr. Brennan has authored numerous textbook chapters, co-authored over 25 manuscripts and abstracts, and is an adjunct professor at Yeshiva University and CUNY York, where she teaches clinical trials and research management classes for the Master of Science degree. She also serves on the oncology advisory board with the Society for Clinical Research Sites and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50 research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, and molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn