Research Staff Spotlight: Liz Stefani

Back when Liz Stefani worked in banking, she could not have imagined that her career path would take her into the world of clinical research and independent review boards. “When I worked as a banker, I befriended a client who told me that she had just started an Independent Ethics Committee,” Liz says. “At the time, I had no knowledge of what that entailed.”

Several years later, this client had grown her business and offered Liz a position. Liz, who had just earned a degree in psychology and was interested in a career shift, accepted. “I jumped from banking to working for an independent review board (IRB) and stayed with that company for nearly eight years,” Liz explains.

In this role, Liz gained a variety of IRB experiences, including handling new research study submissions, modifying studies, and working on studies with over 100 sites.

Eventually, Liz had a chance meeting with a CHLA regulatory affairs manager, who spoke about the creation of a dedicated Reliance group within CHLA’s IRB. “It felt like a no brainer to move over to this new opportunity with a world-class hospital,” Liz says.

For just over two years now, Liz has been in her current role as an IRB Reliance Administrator at CHLA. She facilitates, manages, and keeps track of the various reliance agreements, procedures, and relationships that CHLA enters into with external IRBs in situations where an outside IRB will oversee a particular clinical research study. Liz also reviews study applications to ensure that they are complete and that they comply with regulations.

“To be able to support a huge team of people who work with kids and their families is really rewarding,” Liz says.

When she’s not at work, Liz enjoys traveling, kayaking, hiking, spending time with friends, and attending concerts.