Senior Director, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Clinical Research
Takeda
LaShell Robinson, MS is the Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Clinical Research Department at Takeda. Here, LaShell leads the company’s vision of equitable trial access. LaShell and her team actively work towards fostering partnerships & implementing strategies focused on education, awareness, and access through Takeda’s strategy to P.A.V.E. the way to diversity, equity, and inclusion in clinical research.
LaShell has more than a decade of experience, from volunteering at an investigative site, CRO, to industry sponsors. Before joining, Takeda Robinson was part of the inaugural DEI in clinical trials team at Janssen Research & Development, a Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Company, serving as a 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’s previous roles centered on Patient Recruitment & Retention and Site Engagement, supporting global clinical trial programs with a disease-focused strategy to expedite trial enrollment. Her specializations included training clinical teams, facilitating site & patient engagement workshops, and managing small to large-scale investigative site support programs.
LaShell is also a proud alumna of Tuskegee University, where she obtained a BS in both Biology & Physics. She saw firsthand the impact history has on the patient’s perception of clinical research. This fuels her passion for educating others about clinical research and the diversity of the patient experience. Robinson has an MS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of South Florida.
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The Learning Phase includes:
Connecting Clinical Trial Sponsors: Bringing sponsors and local EQBMED-selected sites together to work as partners.
Sharing Key Learnings: Sharing important lessons learned from these partnerships.
Building Robust Infrastructure: Creating a strong support system that continues to support the growth and aspirations of local sites.
