On Thursday, July 18, Dan Cooper, director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at UC Irvine, announced the appointment of Laurie Herraiz as executive director of UC Biomedical Research Acceleration, Integration, and Development (UC BRAID). UC BRAID is the coalition of the UC-wide Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs, including those at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego, and UCSF. BRAID is a model of success for harnessing the talents of CTSA hubs to advance clinical research and science.
“We are delighted Laurie has accepted this position, and we look forward to working with her to collaborate across the UC system and accelerate research to improve health throughout California,” said Cooper.
Herraiz has 20 years of experience in clinical research and research administration at UCSF, most recently as Director of the UCSF Institutional Review Board (IRB) where, among many accomplishments, she led the effort to reduce approval times for clinical research. Previously, Laurie served as the Bionutritionist at the CTSA’s Clinical Research Center conducting metabolic studies. During her eight years at the IRB, Laurie collaborated on multiple UC BRAID initiatives and other systemwide projects.
As a member of the UCSF Vice Chancellor’s Task Force for Clinical Trials Activation, Herraiz has experience assessing the multiple components of the process and has collaborated with other research administrators to develop efficiencies.