MedAvante Names Ropacki Head of Research and Development

HAMILTON, N.J., Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MedAvante, Inc., the leading global clinical data services company dedicated to maximizing signal detection in clinical trials, announced that Michael T. Ropacki, PhD, has been appointed Vice President, Research and Development to lead the company's continued expansion of clinical science and signal detection capabilities.

Dr. Ropacki was previously Director, Clinical Research Neuroscience, Research and Development, for Janssen Research & Development (Johnson & Johnson) where he was responsible for leading the Cognitive Health in Aging Registry: Investigational, Observational and Trial studies in dementia research – Prospective Readiness Cohort (CHARIOT-PRO) program, and he was also responsible for the development and execution of other clinical programs within the neuroscience therapeutic area.

"Michael Ropacki is widely recognized for the groundbreaking trial methodology he has implemented for registries and prospective cohort studies," said MedAvante CEO and co-founder Paul Gilbert. "He also brings extensive experience in psychiatry, neurology and dermatology, making him an ideal addition to MedAvante's scientific leadership team."

In his role at MedAvante as Vice President, Research and Development, Ropacki will serve as the therapeutic leader for psychiatry, intensifying the company's traditional focus on mood and anxiety disorders, as well as new therapeutic areas, developing innovative applications for the company's industry-leading clinical trial technology and drug development study experience. He will also oversee MedAvante's scientific research and publications. 

Ropacki serves as Co-Chair of a Scientific Advisory Group for the Innovative Medicines Initiative-Early Proof Of Concept/Early Prevention of AD (IMI-EPAD) program, and he is a National Institute of Health (NIH) advisor to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

He is a member of the Critical Path Institute's (C-Path) Coalition Against Major Disease (CAMD) digital Drug Development Tool (dDDT) Team.  Previously, he was Co-Chair of the CAMD Preclinical Cognitive Outcome Assessment (COA) team working with the Food and Drug Administration's Drug Development Tool, COA Qualification Program.  Dr. Ropacki authored or co-authored of dozens of published manuscripts and abstracts, and was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

Dr. Ropacki holds a bachelor degree Summa Cum Laude from University of Arizona and a master degree and doctorate from Texas Tech University. He completed his internship/residency at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Psychiatry and two post-doctoral fellowships at Brown University School of Medicine and UCLA School of Medicine in Psychiatry.

"Dr. Ropacki's work has been fundamental in building the emerging industry/public consortia dedicated to accelerating the conduct of Alzheimer's clinical trials, including the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia Consortium (EPAD) and the Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP) Foundation," said Gilbert. "We are thrilled to have him join us and look forward to his contributions increasing our already precipitous rate of growth to even greater heights."

About MedAvante

MedAvante is the global clinical data services company dedicated to maximizing signal detection in clinical trials. Founded in 2002, MedAvante pioneered Central Ratings, a groundbreaking clinical trial methodology. This heritage of clinical expertise, coupled with technical innovation and operational skills, enabled MedAvante to develop the electronic source (eSource) platform, Virgil, the first such technology to replace costly and error-prone paper rating scales with real-time digital collection and cloud management of source data. Designed by clinicians for clinicians, Virgil offers built-in clinical guidance to ensure accurate, standardized assessments. MedAvante helps brings better drug therapies to market through smarter, faster clinical trials. Based in Hamilton, NJ with operations teams in the US, Germany, Russia and Japan, MedAvante delivers services for clinical trials in more than 40 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.medavante.com.

SOURCE MedAvante, Inc.

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