Marjorie Speers, PhD

Dr. Marjorie Speers is Executive Director of Clinical Research Pathways (formerly WCG Foundation), a public charity, since 2015. Clinical Research Pathways promotes compassion, inclusion and education in research. Clinical Research Pathways helps physicians and institutional review boards streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access process to make it easier for desperately ill patients to try experimental medicines. Previously, beginning in 2001, Dr. Speers was the inaugural president and CEO of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) until her retirement in 2013. From 1999-2001, she was the Acting Executive Director of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, where she oversaw the Commission’s work and report on the oversight system for research involving human participants. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Associate Director for Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she oversaw all domestic and international research involving human participants. Dr. Speers was on the faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch prior to joining CDC. As an epidemiologist, her research focused on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention.