Meet the CCRA Teams

Johanna Chesley is honored to serve BMC clinical research, its patients and communities, and the future of healthcare. Johanna and teams'  primarily responsibilities include: 1. building Industry and Principal Investigator partnerships around clinical trial financial activities, 2. building clinical research operations infrastructure with senior leaders at BMC and Boston University, and 3. cultivating an environment that includes all voices in discovery and medical advancements. Johanna is skilled at complex process analysis and derives great satisfaction from collaborating with others to develop and implement solutions. She is a proud mama of three girls and enjoys exploring the great outdoors – throughout all four seasons – with her husband and children. These days, skiing, tennis, and coaching soccer are Johanna’s preferred ways to build strength, remain centered, and engage with her community.

Email: johanna.chesley@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2861

Michael Porreca provides financial management support for clinical trials and manages the CTO staff members. With more than 10 years of experience in research administration, Michael has a strong background in financial planning, budgeting, and analysis. In his role, he works closely with clinical trial teams to ensure that they have the necessary financial resources to deliver successful outcomes.

Email: michael.porreca@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-5669

Ryan Schroeder joined BMC in 2021 to serve as the director of the Clinical Research Network and build a team of innovators who are reimagining what clinical research can look like when merging community-engaged values with traditional staffing models to define new metrics of excellence in clinical research. In addition to leading the rapid activation and management of BMC’s high priority trials and community engagement efforts, the CRN serves as an incubator for progress that affects the BMC research program broadly.

Ryan brings more than 20 years of experience with functional and technical leadership expertise in research administration and clinical research operations at universities and academic medical centers. He is passionate about building high performing
and inclusive research programs through strategic planning, physician outreach, community engagement, and promoting a team philosophy of credibility, trust, and accountability

Email: ryan.schroeder@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-7075

Michael Porreca provides financial management support for clinical trials and manages the CTO staff members. With more than 10 years of experience in research administration, Michael has a strong background in financial planning, budgeting, and analysis. In his role, he works closely with clinical trial teams to ensure that they have the necessary financial resources to deliver successful outcomes.

Email: michael.porreca@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-5669

Amy Chung is happy to be part of the Clinical Trial Office at
Boston Medical Center. She joined the team as a Financial
Analyst in March 2021. Her duties include managing the budget
and negotiations for several departments (Cardiology, Radiology,
Infectious Diseases, Gastroenterology, and Nephrology). She
along with the other CTFAs strive to strengthen the
communication, workflow, and efficiency between the
departments and sponsors we collaborate with. During her free
time, she enjoys hiking, playing board games, and traveling to
new cities.

Email: amy.chung@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2836 ext. 42836

Fernanda Fortes is a seasoned billing compliance specialist with
more than 15 years of dedicated experience in the healthcare and
research sectors. She excels in ensuring accurate and compliant
billing processes for clinical trials, managing intricate financial
data, and liaising between clinical departments and billing
offices. Fernanda's meticulous attention to detail, combined
with her extensive knowledge of regulatory requirements, has
been pivotal in streamlining billing operations and ensuring
financial integrity for numerous research projects. Beyond her
technical expertise, she is deeply committed to fostering
transparent and ethical financial practices within the realm of
medical research.

Email: fernanda.fortes@bmc.org

Phone: 617-414-1613

Amruta Khedekar is thrilled to be a part of the Clinical Trial
Office since September 2019. She serves as a Sr. Financial
Analyst having ardent interest in providing the best quality of
service to the healthcare professionals within and outside the
organization. She works with cross functional teams and assists
in pre-award and post-award financial management of clinical
research within CTO. She helps develop and negotiate budgets
for the Departments of Pediatrics and Surgery. She has gained
hands-on experience in developing COVID-19 research budgets
while working with major industry sponsors. She loves cooking
and creating fusion recipes. She also enjoys canvas painting and
travelling in her free time.

Email: amruta.khedekar@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2867

Sandy Lok is a Senior Financial Analyst for the Clinical Trial Office
at Boston Medical Center. Her role includes pre-award and post-
award management of clinical trials, confidential disclosure
agreement review, research policy review, VelosCT training for
new users, and other tasks to help facilitate research at BMC.
Sandy has been happy to see research at BMC grow and develop
over the years, and is excited to continue working to better
serve the institution, research community, and patients.
During her free time, Sandy enjoys playing piano and long walks
along the beach.

Email: Sandy.Lok@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2847

Bryant Shields is honored to serve as the Project Manager for
the Clinical Trial Office at Boston Medical Center. She joined the
team in November 2019. Bryant is responsible for clinical
research billing review, submission, and reconciliation to ensure
compliance with research billing regulations, policies, and
procedures; Front-end management of the participant
reimbursement process; Manages a variety of Clinical Research
Operations projects within CTO, across the medical campus and
throughout the hospital and clinics; Develops and provides
monthly ClinCard and Research Billing Compliance workflow
trainings for clinical researchers, and more. During her free time,
she enjoys hiking, traveling and snowboarding.

Email: Bryant.Shields@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2863

Minhao Yin serves as a Team Lead of Clinical Trial Office. He
joined the team in July 2019 and mainly assists Cancer Care
Center, Neurology and Psychiatry with industry funded studies
management. He also assists with projects such as potential trial
connection, master budget negotiation with top sponsors,
Research Operations quarterly financial dashboard and smart
form development for internal ancillary service providers. It is
his honor to work with outstanding professionals to help more
patients and build a healthier community. He enjoys traveling,
cooking and snowboarding.

Email: minhao.yin@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-2844

Ryan Schroeder joined BMC in 2021 to serve as the director of the Clinical Research Network and build a team of innovators who are reimagining what clinical research can look like when merging community-engaged values with traditional staffing models to define new metrics of excellence in clinical research. In addition to leading the rapid activation and management of BMC’s high priority trials and community engagement efforts, the CRN serves as an incubator for progress that affects the BMC research program broadly.

Ryan brings more than 20 years of experience with functional and technical leadership expertise in research administration and clinical research operations at universities and academic medical centers. He is passionate about building high performing
and inclusive research programs through strategic planning, physician outreach, community engagement, and promoting a team philosophy of credibility, trust, and accountability

Email: ryan.schroeder@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-7075

Nike Asupoto serves as the Clinical Research Coordinator for the
CRN. Nike is responsible for overseeing clinical trials from
startup to site activation and close out, primary data reporting,
preparing for external and internal audits and ensuring study
compliance with the IRB.
Nike joined the CRN in October of 2022 and with over 2 years of
clinical research experience she ensures the quality of clinical
trials by overseeing the day to day operations of the team and
completing study associated activities through collaboration and
communication.
Nike is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health degree
from Tufts University with a concentration in Population Health
Promotion.

Emai: olanike.asupoto@bmc.org
Phone: 617-414-7042

Duncan Schulte is the Clinical Research Regulatory Project
Manager for the Clinical Research Network (CRN) at Boston
Medical Center. As a regulatory project manager, Duncan is
responsible for managing the CRN’s research portfolio, service
lines, and research infrastructure building collaborations at BMC
as they intersect with federal, state, and local regulations and
policies for clinical research. Duncan shares a passion with CRN’s
mission to reimagine clinical research with the highest standards
for inclusive values and as responsive to the cultural and
linguistic differences of all people.

Email: duncan.schulte@bmc.org
Phone: 915-203-3812

Quinneil Simmons is the Program Manager for the Clinical Research Network (CRN) at BMC. As the Program Manager Quinneil oversees the financial management of the CRN’s clinical trial portfolio; facilitates relationships between clinical trials departments, study teams, and ancillary departments throughout the BMC/BU community; and supports instructional operational initiatives as they relate to the advancement of research. Quinneil is proud to be a part of a team that values community and looks forward to witness the CRN’s efforts in clinical trials research innovation result in increased access, education, inclusivity, and participation in research.

Email: quinneil.simmons@bmc.org

As our Community Engagement and Recruitment Specialist,
Shannon is responsible for leading community engagement and
outreach for the CRN, and developing inclusive recruitment
strategies for clinical trials.
Shannon joined the CRN team in November of 2022, bringing a
unique community-based perspective to a clinical research
team. Prior to joining BMC, Shannon spent 3 years at the
Mayor’s Office of Food Justice, working closely with community
partners to manage emergency food response and recovery
programs. Shannon earned her Master's of Public
Health degree from BUSPH, specializing in program design,
implementation, and evaluation.

Email: shannon.timlin@bmc.org

Benjamin P. Linas, MD, MPH, is an infectious disease specialist at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and a professor of infectious diseases at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Linas is also an associate professor of Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. He is a national leader in hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection and HCV/HIV co-infection comparative- and cost-effectiveness research using computational biology, clinical epidemiology, and clinical economics methods. Dr. Linas also directs the HIV/HCV core of the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in collaboration with Cornell, U Penn and Miami. He has over 20 years of experience.