b9
13
83 CREATE Awards
19 19 19 31 19 65 19 19 49 31 31 19 19 19 19 19 45Clinical Research Expertise and Advancement Through Excellence Annual Award Ceremony
2 1e0The CREATE Awards reimagines award categories for broader inclusivity allowing for us to recognize all of the Clinical Research Professionals (CRPs) that contribute to the success of Penn Medicine’s Clinical Research Enterprise. Our colleagues contribute expertise across multiple roles, and we are excited to highlight their achievements. We encourage nominations of CRPs who continually exceed expectations and exemplify the values and mission of Penn Medicine.
2 14aThank you to everyone who joined us for the CREATE Awards on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Congratulations to our 2026 winners, and all of our nominees! If you were unable to attend in person or via Zoom, you can watch the recording here.
2 362026 CREATE Award Winners:
2 9| Distinguished Performance in a Research Assistant Role Recipient | 9
2e
Anna Callahan, BS a |
9
| Distinguished Performance in a Clinical Research Coordinator Role Recipient | 9
2a
Emily Xie, BS a |
9
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Role with Clinical Licensure Award Recipient | 9
2f
Dan Zhao, RN, MNHP a |
9
| Distinguished Performance in a Regulatory or Monitoring & Compliance Role Award Recipient | 9
2f
Cara R. Joyce, MPH a |
9
| Distinguished Performance in a Data Management and Informatics Role Award Recipient | 9
2f
Stephanie Cummings a |
9
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Administrative or Financial Officer Award Recipient | 9
2b
Carly Faltraco a |
9
| Excellence in Leadership of Clinical Research Professionals Award Recipient | 9
31
Amy E. Marshall, MPH a |
9
| Innovations in Clinical Research Operations Award Recipient | 9
20
N/A a |
9
| Clinical Research Professional Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient | 9
2d
Naseem Kerr, MPH a |
9
1f
CREATE Awards Information
1 25On behalf of the Society for Penn Clinical Research Professionals (SPCRP), we are proud to share the winners of previous CREATE Awards on this page. These exemplary clinical research professionals were nominated for excellence across multiple essential roles in clinical research conduct. The refined categories of awards for clinical research professional staff reflect the SPCRP’s commitment to inclusivity and representation of the skilled professionals who make the institution’s research advancements possible.
1 5-
cc
- Distinguished Performance in a Research Assistant Role – recognizes CRPs with varied responsibilities in facilitating clinical trials including working with patients d7
- Distinguished Performance in a Clinical Research Coordinator Role – recognizes CRPs with varied responsibilities in coordinating clinical trials including working with patients d7
- Distinguished Performance in a Research Role with Clinical Licensure – recognizes CRPs who apply their clinical expertise to promote safe data collection from patients e4
- Distinguished Performance in a Regulatory or Monitoring & Compliance Role – recognizes CRPs who use expert knowledge of regulatory standards to promote patient safety and data integrity cc
- Distinguished Performance in a Data Management and Informatics Role – recognizes CRPs who facilitate the collection, analysis, and security of clinical data de
- Distinguished Performance in a Research Administrative or Financial Officer Role – recognizes CRPs who manage the budgetary and/or logistical systems that facilitate clinical research c1
- Excellence in Leadership of Clinical Research Professionals – recognizes mentors and leaders of CRPs who share knowledge and advocate for their colleagues c8
- Clinical Research Professional Lifetime Achievement Award – recognizes CRPs who have dedicated their careers to the success of clinical research at Penn Medicine 106
- Clinical Research Operations Innovation Award – recognizes an innovative process change or tool and the individual or team who created it to solve operational gaps in clinical research at Penn Medicine 6
Previous CREATE Award Winners
1 25| Distinguished Performance in a Research Assistant Role Recipient | 8
50
Mika Esperanza, BS 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Clinical Research Coordinator Role Recipient | 8
2c
Neda Almassi, MS 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Role with Clinical Licensure Award Recipient | 8
31
Khanh Nguyen, BSN, RN 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Regulatory or Monitoring & Compliance Role Award Recipient | 8
45
Lauren Vincent, MRA, MBE 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Data Management and Informatics Role Award Recipient | 8
2a
Jenny Tian, BA 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Administrative or Financial Officer Award Recipient | 8
2d
Edward Yuhasz, BS 9 |
8
| Excellence in Leadership of Clinical Research Professionals Award Recipient | 8
2c
Dahlia Kamel, MS 9 |
8
| Innovations in Clinical Research Operations Award Recipient | 8
54
Penn Neurogenetics Therapy Center Clinical Research Team 9 |
8
| Clinical Research Professional Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient | 8
3b
Terease Waite, PhD, RN, JD, MBE 9 |
8
The winners were honored at the first annual CREATE Award Ceremony on May 22, 2024 with accolades from their peers and a luncheon.
1 8| Distinguished Performance in a Clinical Research Coordinator or Research Assistant Role Recipient | 8
2e
Brittaney Bonhomme 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Role with Clinical Licensure Award Recipient | 8
39
Jessica Savage Jones, MSN, RN 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Regulatory or Monitoring & Compliance Role Award Recipient | 8
2e
Heather Madara, BA 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Data Management and Informatics Role Award Recipient | 8
2a
Susan Ware, BS 9 |
8
| Distinguished Performance in a Research Administrative or Financial Officer Award Recipient | 8
33
Alexandria Oliver, CCRS 9 |
8
| Excellence in Leadership of Clinical Research Professionals Award Recipient | 8
31
Lauren Southwick, MPH 9 |
8
| Innovations in Clinical Research Operations Award Recipient | 8
55
Clinical Trials Unit, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies 9 |
8
| Clinical Research Professional Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient | 8
29
Suzanne Rizio 9 |
8