Meet our team
The CCCR is staffed by a team of experts with experience in areas including research administration, study operations, finance, regulatory oversight and project management. Through our collective experience, we’re able to offer insight-driven best practices and guidance for conducting clinical research at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Stephen Freedman - Associate Dean, Clinical Trials
Dr. Freedman is Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Calgary. He completed his residency at The Hospital for Sick Children and a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He obtained a Master’s of Science in Clinical Investigation at Northwestern University. He is the Past-Chair of Pediatric Emergency Research Canada and currently serves as the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Professor in Child Health and Wellness.
His research focuses on applying clinical research to improve outcomes in children seeking emergency department care. His focus is on the use of innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to solve complex problems. He has published over 220 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is the principal investigator on numerous multicentre clinical trials with funding support from CIHR and the NIH. Most recently, he received CIHR funding to lead several multi-national pediatric COVID-19 studies and NIH funding to evaluate an intervention to prevent progression of disease in children infected with Shiga toxin producing E. coli.
Sabine Moritz, MSc, CCRP - Director, Clinical, Health Services and Population Health Research
Sabine holds both a BSc and MSc in Biology from the RWTH in Aachen, Germany, as well as an MSc in Research and Evaluation Methods in Health Care from the Open University, UK. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s ULead program, she was also the recipient of the 2018 U Make a Difference award and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (SoCRA).
Overseeing both the CCCR and the Heritage Medical Research Clinic, Sabine plays a critical role in building clinical research infrastructure and expanding clinical trial capacity at the University. Currently, she is also leading the Alberta-wide implementation of a Clinical Trial Management System.
Her clinical research career has spanned more than 25 years and includes extensive experience in developing and leading clinical trial programs both in Canada and the UK, including at the Cancer Research Campaign Clinical Trials Centre at King’s College in London, UK, and the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.
Phone: 403.220.8754
Email: sabine.moritz@ucalgary.ca
Our Staff
Shweta Patel, MBBS, CCRP
Shweta brings substantial clinical research and health-care experience to her role as Clinical Trial Program Administrator at the CCCR. This includes more than five years coordinating clinical drug trials in multi-therapeutic areas, from respiratory and metabolic research to dermatology and oncology. In her role, she acts as the primary point of contact with external sponsors and supports investigators with site selection, trial start-up activities and accessing research support services at the University of Calgary.
Shweta’s education includes a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Baroda Medical College in India. She’s also a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP), is an active member of the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) and holds certifications in both phlebotomy and the transportation of clinical trial samples (IATA).
Phone: 403.210.5460
Email: pats@ucalgary.ca
Start-up Services
Jenna Dobry, BSc, MSL
Jenna serves as the Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance Specialist for the University. Jenna received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Calgary. She earned a Master of Science Degree in Law from Northwestern University which provided her with a deep understanding of various regulatory frameworks in clinical research and other STEM fields.
Jenna has held various roles in clinical research at the University of Calgary and with Alberta Health Services. She worked as a Research Coordinator for the Section of Neonatology and held the lead role of Clinical Research Associate in the Hematology, Oncology and Transplant Clinical Research Unit at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Jenna has a thorough understanding of the complexity of clinical research regulations. Her goal is to make compliance as seamless as possible while ensuring that research teams can focus on keeping their participants safe and producing quality data to improve medical care.
Email: jldobry@ucalgary.ca
Shanza Mukhtar, BSc, MSc
As a Clinical Study Monitor, Shanza brings extensive research and quality assurance experience to her role. With more than thirteen years' experience with multiple organizations around the globe, she has worked in cancer research, molecular biology, genetics, education, and quality assurance, allowing her to contribute greatly towards monitoring clinical trial success.
She holds a BSc in Medical Microbiology and an MSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Shanza has held multiple roles in pharmaceuticals, interventional medicine, drug-device companies, and the UK Ministry of Education and Health, demonstrating a thorough understanding of quality assurance for clinical trials. As Clinical Study Monitor, she helps ensure that the University of Calgary-sponsored trials are conducted in compliance with the currently approved protocol, GCP, and within applicable regulatory requirements.
Email: shanza.mukhtar1@ucalgary.ca
Erno Kovacs, BA
Erno serves as the Program Support Coordinator for CCCR. He works with both CCCR and the CSM Legal Unit to provide key supports to the mandates and activities of both teams with the end goal of supporting CSM researchers.
Erno is a graduate of the University of Calgary and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology with a Minor in Management and Society. Having worked first as a Research Contractor to a research scientist in the Department of Surgery, a Research Assistant, and later an Evaluations Assistant in the office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development, Erno possesses solid knowledge of the University of Calgary processes and procedures. His work experience at the University has also given him a clear understanding of Alberta's health system, Canada's health research environment as well as expertise in knowledge translation.
Email: erno.kovacs@ucalgary.ca
Jade Andersen, Dip
Jade comes to CCCR with a Diploma in New Media Production and Design program from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. As part of the Calgary Center for Clinical Research Team (CCCR), her mandate is to assist in IRISS, and in the archiving and project closure process. Her main role is to provide technological help and expertise in managing the CCCR website, hosting Lunch and Learns and creating email announcements. It is with this in mind, she hopes to aid the CCCR with her technological knowledge.
Email: Jade.andersen@ucalgary.ca
Finance
Asim Nadeem, B.Com, DCMA
As the Clinical Research Finance Lead at CCCR, Asim brings over 20 years of extensive experience in Accounting and Finance including Clinical Research Grant Management. In his role, he provides financial support to clinical researchers by negotiating and advising on clinical trial budgets; reviewing and providing final approvals for all budgets; administrative oversight of clinical trials activities at University of Calgary; managing the Clinical Research Fund (CRF) grant program; administering the archiving processes for Clinical Trials materials including development and maintenance of relevant policies and procedures; providing support to the university’s Accounts Receivable department for unallocated funds and is responsible for the creation and development of future web-based programs for CCCR.
Asim’s background includes a post graduate diploma in Cost and Management Accounting and a Bachelor of Commerce degree (majoring in accounting and finance) from University of Punjab in Pakistan. Before joining the University of Calgary in 2021, he was part of the Clinical Research Finance team at Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
Email: asim.nadeem@ucalgary.ca
Patricia Steele, B.Sc., MBA, KTPC
As Financial Research Advisor, Patricia provides budget review support to clinical research teams. Her education includes a B.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology (McGill University), an MBA (Haskayne -University of Calgary), Practitioner of Change Certification (Modeled after the MSOD from Pepperdine University), Knowledge Translation Professional Certification (Sick Kids Hospital and Research Institute), Graduate studies in Educational Technology (Concordia University), and significant training in teamwork, facilitation, and project management. Patricia brings 20 years of leadership experience in Medical Research and Organizational Effectiveness in health, industry, and not-for-profit settings. She has led large scale culture and technology change initiatives, as well as managed the day-to-day operations of Human Resources, Clinical Trials, Training and Development Departments and Research Organizations.
Email: patricia.steele@ucalgary.ca
Min Seong Park, BComm
As the Financial Research Advisor at the CCCR, Min provides financial support to clinical research teams. His role includes analyzing clinical trial budgets, negotiating with various study sponsors, reviewing payment terms in clinical research agreements, delivering administrative assistance to departments and project holders, and collaborating with Legal and Accounts Receivable.
Min is a graduate from University of Calgary and his educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) in Risk Management and Insurance. He began his career at University of Calgary through Research Accounting and Financial Reporting, Project Maintenance team. After five years of experience as Project Support Administrator, he gained significant insight into university’s environment, procedures and regulations. Multiple years of service in project management has greatly helped him transition into his current role.
Binzi Wang
As the Financial Research Advisor at CCCR, Binzi provides financial support relating to clinical research projects, including budget review, negotiation and liaison with study teams and sponsors.
Binzi holds a Bachelor Degree in Management from the University of Lethbridge, majoring in accounting. Binzi joined the University of Calgary in 2018 as Accounts Receivable Specialist. Prior to working for the University, Binzi held various positions in the banking and insurance industries. With her extensive experience in both finance and customer service, Binzi excels at understanding clients’ needs and crafting tailored solutions.
Email:binzi.wang1@ucalgary.ca
CTMS and POST
Mari Boesen, M.Sc., PMP
As the Provincial CTMS Project Manager, Mari is dedicated to the implementation of the new Clinical Trial Management System in Alberta. Mari is passionate about making change as easy as possible and looks forward to setting your team up for success in the system. She knows just how many activities are involved in conducting a clinical trial and thinks that a CTMS is the best way to stay on top of it all!
Mari has a background in Pragmatic Clinical Trials with the Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research. While there, she worked on clinical trial training programs, patient-facing clinical research awareness campaigns, and supported many tools and resources for clinical trial conduct in Alberta. She has an educational background in Medical Imaging Research with a BSc in Physics from the University of Victoria, an MSc in Physics from the University of Calgary, and a Project Management Professional designation through the Project Management Institute.
Email: meboesen@ucalgary.ca
Gillian Hughes, MEd, MSc
Gillian brings varied experience from software implementation and technical writing, adult education and training, editorial and research management, and informatics to her role as the CTMS Implementation and Training Lead. Gillian is committed to process and quality improvement in support of patient safety, which is why she feels the CTMS will be so helpful to investigators, study teams and patients.
Gillian’s educational background includes a MSc in Health Informatics, focussing on usability and human factors from the University of Victoria, and a BA in Psychology and MEd in Special Education (Psychology & Adult Education) from the University of Alberta. She has been a technical writer for a variety of software systems, and spent a decade as Managing Editor of top-ranked medical-surgical journals, including the American Journal of Transplantation, Transplantation, and Transplantation Direct. She was the Clinical Research Project Manager for a kidney transplant research group and Study Manager for a large, Canadian, multicentre, multinational investigator-initiated trial.
Email: gillian.hughes@ucalgary.ca
Erin Timpson
Erin joined the CCCR team in early 2021 to help with the implementation of the new Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS). Erin's focus is transferring clinical trials and their budgets into OnCore. Through her knowledge of the CTMS, Erin helps teams optimize use of the application, as well as providing resources, information, and support to research teams through the creation and activation of their clinical trials. She is always available to help teams further enhance their experience with CTMS and CCCR through her work with the Provincial OnCore Support Team (POST). Erin looks forward to getting to know you and your team and helping you use our systems to best suit your needs.
Email: erin.timpson@ucalgary.ca
Zoe Downton, BSC
Zoe comes to CCCR with a BSc in Psychology from the University of Alberta. As part of the Provincial OnCore Support Team (POST), her mandate is to assist study teams in maximizing their use of OnCore. Her main role is to provide calendar and budget building for a variety of protocols. She enjoys the challenge of figuring out how to translate protocols into OnCore to ensure she has provided the most appropriate solution for teams. It is with this in mind, she hopes study teams will have the best possible user experience.
Email: zoe.downton@ucalgary.ca