Durham Tech Clinical Trials students play role in COVID-19 vaccine, treatment

With all eyes on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, students enrolled in the Clinical Trials Research Associate program at Durham Tech are playing an active role in reaching the finish line.

When Dayo Thompson enrolled in the program last year, he certainly couldn’t have predicted that his fieldwork would support the development of a potentially life-saving vaccine during a global pandemic.

Thompson works at the UNC School of Medicine Department of Global Health and Infectious Diseases where he supports a phase three clinical research trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the team effort it takes to collect data and ensure participant safety when bringing a new therapeutic to market to help improve public health,” Thompson said. “I’ve been interested in studying diseases from an epidemiological perspective and being involved with contact tracing efforts to combat Covid-19. I am excited to be able to contribute to research that will help with efforts to prevent more people throughout the world from catching COVID-19.”

He helps participants set up e-Diaries on their phones for data collection, schedules patient visits and safety calls, and prepares lab kits for nurse coordinators.

“It feels great to know that I am able to use what I’ve learned from my education to try to help prevent more people from catching the virus,” Thompson said. “I appreciate the trust that clinical trial participants place in the members of our team at UNC. I am hoping their sacrifices and our hard work will result in widely available vaccines that can help blunt some of the disruption this virus has caused people across the world.”

Melissa Long enrolled in the program after her mom’s cancer diagnosis because she wanted to be a part of a team that helped find a cure for cancer. She currently works full-time for a Clinical Research Organization -- or CRO -- in the Triangle and aspires to become a Project Manager or start her own CRO one day.

Long was recently assigned to a study to support COVID-19 patients with the treatment drug Remdesivir. Her job is to review regulatory documents for compliance before getting sites activated to enroll subjects.

“I was so excited to get this assignment,” Long said. “I can’t believe I am actually a part of a team that will be able to help people suffering from COVID-19. It feels great to know I am playing a role in such an important study. When I watch the news and see all of the stories about the great accomplishments that we have made, it is truly remarkable.”

Melissa Ockert, Dean of Health and Wellness at Durham Tech, said she's proud that our students are playing a role in such an important industry during these unprecedented times.

"We are so proud of these students working on the front lines bringing life saving products to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic," Ockert said. "Although we teach our students how to conduct the day to day work of clinical research, we hope that they can step back and see the incredible impact that they can make in patients' lives."

The Clinical Trials Research Associate program at Durham Tech prepares individuals to assist physicians and clinical researchers in the initiation, administration, coordination, and management of clinical research studies for the development of new drugs, clinical products, and treatment regimens.
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Contact Marcy Gardner, Content and Social Media Coordinator at gardnerm@durhamtech.edu