LaShell Robinson

Director, Diversity & Inclusion at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Director, Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical Trials, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

LaShell Robinson is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical trials at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. Here she leads the company’s strategic vision for increasing the diversity of Takeda’s clinical trial programs by fostering partnerships & implementing strategies focused on education, awareness, and access.

LaShell brings her experience from Janssen Research & Development, a Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Company where she held the position of Clinical Operations Lead, Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical Trials (DICT). In this role, she supported the vision to ensure that all patients have access to innovative, high-quality care and the best possible health outcome regardless of race or ethnicity. LaShell was responsible for providing D&I strategic and tactical support to trials, including the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments trials.

LaShell’s previous roles centered on Patient Recruitment & Retention and Site supporting global clinical trial programs with disease-focused strategy to expedite trial enrollment. Her specializations included training clinical teams, facilitation of site & patient engagement workshops, managing small to large scale investigative site support programs all of which focused on highlighting the patient experience to enable a better clinical trial experience.

LaShell is a proud alumna of Tuskegee University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in both Biology & Physics. Here she saw firsthand the impact history has on the patient perception of clinical research. This continues to fuel and influence her passion for educating others about clinical research and the diversity of the patient experience. LaShell has a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of South Florida. LaShell and her family currently reside in Maryland.

While this role is a director role I realize the impact it will have on the organization to a larger degree. I will interface with senior leaders and be looked to as the driver of change. I believe this course will support my development in moving from my previous support roles to leading.

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