SCI Cancer Clinical Trials Office Blog

Beverly Smolich

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Beverly Smolich, our new Director of Regulatory Affairs. Beverly graduated with a BS in Genetics from UC Berkeley and received her PhD in Biology from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, Beverly was Senior Director of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at CCS Associates, providing consulting services to biotech and government clients, and has also worked in biotech, developing targeted therapies for cancer. She is excited to be back on a university campus and is looking forward to getting to know her colleagues and her team in the CCTO, to providing the best support for the clinical research community and patients at Stanford. She enjoys riding her bike, doing jigsaw puzzles, reading, and exploring the Bay Area on the weekends. Please help us welcome Beverly!

Stephanie Rodriguez

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Stephanie Rodriguez, our new CRCA with BMT. Stephanie graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Biological Sciences. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, she was a CRC in the UCSF Lung Transplant Research Division. Stephanie is looking forward to growing her career in clinical research, learning from the best of the best and making a difference in the world! She appreciates everyone being so kind and is excited to work and learn from everyone. Please help us welcome Stephanie!

Chelsea Norton

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Chelsea Norton, our new CRCA with Hematology. Chelsea graduated from The College of New Jersey with a BA in Biopsychology in 2014. Currently she is finishing up her MA in Research & Experimental Psychology at San Jose State University (thesis in psychedelic science) – she will be graduating at the end of this month! Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, Chelsea worked as a graduate researcher and managed the Cultural Pharmacology lab. She is eager to gain clinical research experience at Stanford/CCTO and work alongside the amazing Hematology team. Outside of work/school, Chelsea enjoys hiking, climbing, and biking – her next personal goal is a solo summit of Mt. Shasta! Please help us welcome Chelsea!

Rindi Ledo

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Rindi Ledo, our new Research Quality Monitor with the Quality Team. Rindi graduated with a BS in Psychology from East Central University, and received her Master’s in Leadership from the University of Oklahoma. She has worked in oncology clinical trials for 13+ years, and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP). Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, she was a Clinical Trials Auditor with Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, and is currently serving as a volunteer member on the Alliance Audit Committee. Rindi is looking forward to meeting everyone in the CCTO, and is excited to be part of Stanford’s team. Please help us welcome Rindi!

Yasmeen Ahmed

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Yasmeen Ahmed, our new CRC2 with GI. Yasmeen graduated with a degree in General Medicine from Comenius University Jessenius Faculty of Medicine. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, she worked at the University of Chicago as a senior clinical research coordinator in the hematology/oncology department specializing in solid tumor studies. Yasmeen is looking forward to collaborating and learning from great minds with efforts to support cancer research.  She is a diehard Chicago Bulls fan and loves to have a good chat over a cup of coffee! Please help us welcome Yasmeen!

Zainab Ahmed

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Zainab Ahmed, our new CRCA with Lymphoma. Zainab graduated from San Jose State University in May 2022 with a BS in Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO she previously worked as a medical assistant and also has experience working as a scribe. Zainab is looking forward to working at Stanford where she hopes to gain more knowledge on the clinical trials that she will be working on, alongside dedicated and wonderful individuals. Please help us welcome Zainab!

Kelly Huang

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Kelly Huang, our new CRCA with Radiation Oncology. Kelly graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Political Science. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, she was a medical scribe at City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles. In her new role as a CRCA, she is looking forward to growing her knowledge of cancer therapeutics and developing her understanding of cancer clinical trials. In her free time, she enjoys trying new foods, rock-climbing, and binge-watching shows on Netflix. She is excited about getting to know her team better and looks forward to learning as much as she can in her new role. Please help us welcome Kelly!

Christina Tran

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Christina Tran, our new CRCA with BMT. Christina graduated from USF with a BS in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies. Prior to joining the SCI-CCTO, Christina worked at a stem cell research company in their first clinical stage. She was in pre-clinical research focusing on using the cell product they developed for epilepsy on spinal cord injuries. Christina is looking forward to learning from the people here at the SCI-CCTO. She is new to cancer research but has always had an interest in this field! Please help us welcome Christina!

Riko Lee

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Riko Lee, our new CRCA with Pediatrics. Riko graduated from the University of Hawai’i with a BA in Biology and a MPH. Prior to joining the CCTO, she was a CRC at the University of Hawai’i Cancer Center as well as, a Graduate Research Assistant for the Hawai’i Health Data Warehouse.

Riko also volunteered at Queen’s Medical Center to help recruit participants for reproductive health related studies, and as a recreational therapy volunteer at a children’s hospital in Honolulu. She is looking forward to meeting everyone in the CCTO and helping her team create a positive impact on patients’ wellbeing. Riko is also excited to start exploring the bay area! Please help us welcome Riko!

Jasmine Newman

The SCI-CCTO welcomes Jasmine Newman, our new Project Manager with Oncore. Jasmine graduated from Coppin State University with a BS in Sociology. Prior to joining the CCTO, she was a Research Project Manager. Jasmine is looking forward to learning more about Stanford’s culture as well as building on her project management skills with her new team. She has two daughters, ages 6 and 11. Please help us welcome Jasmine!

Welcome to Aja Macias to the new CCTO Clinical Research Trainer role!

This new role was created to help enhance and drive the educational trainings and initiatives at the CCTO. Aja’s work will initially be focused on onboarding training of new staff as well as enhancing the educational training(s) and resources available for all CCTO staff.

Aja will maintain a hybrid schedule to facilitate interaction, learning and collaboration with CCTO staff.

Aja comes to this role from the CCTO Early Drug Development research team where she was a CRC2 for almost 3 years. Aja was not only managing multiple Phase 1 clinical cancer trials but she was involved in training and onboarding new staff. She has a very interesting background in teaching as well.

We are very excited to have this new role at the CCTO and for Aja to be our inaugural trainer!  

Madeleine Welsh
The CCTO welcomes Madeleine Welsh, our new CRM with Gastrointestinal Oncology. Madeleine graduated from UCLA with a degree in Human Biology and Society and a minor in Global Studies. Prior to joining the CCTO, she was the Clinical Research Manager in the Head and Neck Oncology research program at the UCSF Cancer Center. Madeleine is looking forward to getting to know her team and supporting them in their professional growth, as well as helping the GI program to develop its portfolio of studies in order to increase and improve treatment options for GI oncology patients at Stanford and beyond. Madeleine is excited about being part of the broader Stanford community and having the chance to work at an institution at the forefront of cancer research.  She would love to get to know as many of her new CCTO colleagues as possible, so please reach out! Please help us welcome Madeleine!