Former HHS Secretary Alex Azar Announced as Keynote Speaker for 2021 Society for Clinical Research Sites Global Site Solutions Summit

HANOVER, Md., Sept. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), the global trade organization dedicated to representing the interests of clinical research sites, has announced Alex Azar, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as the keynote speaker for its 16th Annual Global Site Solutions Summit.

As former Secretary of HHS, Alex Azar led the historic transformation of the healthcare system in the United States and HHS's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the architect of Operation Warp Speed, which delivered vaccines and therapeutics in record time. Additionally, Azar furthered many important healthcare initiatives such as expanding telehealth, giving patients ownership of their health records, and enabling healthcare provider collaborative care models.

"2021 was a landmark year for the healthcare and clinical research industries with significant progress made in the advancement of research," commented Azar. "There is a crucial need among all industry stakeholders to discuss implementation methods designed to ensure better healthcare initiatives that start with clinical trials. I'm honored to be a part of the 2021 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit to discuss opportunities to advance the important work and progress the industry has made and how we can move forward together.  I also want to thank all of those who made Operation Warp Speed possible, enabling huge clinical trials with unprecedented speed and ensuring appropriate clinical trial diversity."

The annual meeting, which attracts clinical research sites, trial investigators, and healthcare industry executives from around the world, will be held October 1-3, 2021 in Hollywood, Florida.  The Global Site Solutions Summit is an opportunity for research sites to share the challenges they face to an audience of pharmaceutical sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and clinical technology solution providers as they discuss knowledge and best practices for improving and sustaining clinical research site operations.  

"We are honored to have former Secretary Azar as our keynote speaker for the 2021 Global Site Solutions Summit," said Mark Hanley, Chief Executive Officer of SCRS.  "It was important to Mr. Azar to thank clinical research sites personally for their hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic."

"Our Summit theme is Sites NOW: Courage and Vision because we want to celebrate the courage shown by clinical research sites and share ideas for the industry's collective vision for the future," commented SCRS Chief Operating Officer, Allyson Small. "The important conversations that will happen at the Summit will help the industry move forward together after a year of many changes."

Registration for the 2021 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit is open now. Learn more and register for the Summit at sitesolutionssummit.com

About Society for Clinical Research Sites:

The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is a global trade organization founded in 2012 which represents over 9,500 research sites in 47 countries. SCRS' mission is to unify the voice of the global clinical research site community for greater site sustainability. As an influential voice for sites and an active partner in industry-wide initiatives and dialogues focused on improving the clinical research enterprise, SCRS membership provides sites with a community dedicated to advocacy, education, mentorship and connectivity. For more information, visit MySCRS.org. 

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