About AMRC

Founded in 2024, AMRC was set up by its founding members to advance the benefits of working with large multisite corporations for the purpose of streamlining, speeding up and improving the quality of clinical research.

Our Mission

To serve as a dedicated advocate and interface between multisite clinical research corporations (MCRCs), sponsors, CROs, Regulators and patients, ensuring that the unique advantages of multisite organizations are understood and leveraged to advance clinical research.

OUR VISION

Build a future where MCRCs are recognized by policymakers, regulators, sponsors, and CROs for advancing clinical trial research through enhanced data quality, improved patient safety, and streamlined operations.

Meet Our Executive Director

Jim Kremidas has over 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Most recently he has served as the Executive Director for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). He has over seven years of experience in management at CROs and spent more than two decades at Eli Lilly and Company where he started the first Patient Recruitment Department in the industry.

Board of Directors

William Smith

Chair

Dr. William B. Smith is the Founder, President, and Principal Investigator of the AMR centers in Knoxville, TN and New Orleans, LA and serves as the CEO of AMR. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Nephrology and Cardiology, Dr. Smith has participated in more than 2,000 clinical trials over the past 35+ years.

He is an original founder of AMR and a frequent industry speaker and author who publishes extensively. Under his direction as CEO, AMR was recognized as the World Vaccine Congress ViE recpient for Best Clinical Trial Network in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2022.

Dr. Smith was recently recognized as the 2024 recipient of the SCRS Christine K. Pierre Site Impact Award, celebrating an industry leader who has made an extraordinary contribution to futhering the voice of the clinical research site community.

Paul Evans

Vice Chair

Paul joined Velocity Clinical Research as President and CEO in 2018 after 26 years of “perfect symmetry” in the site business — he ran sites for 13 years and spent another 13 years managing them on the Sponsor/CRO side. He has served as Corporate VP, Global Site Solutions at Parexel; VP, Global Site Management at IQVIA; and was a Founder and Managing Director of Synexus.

Paul joined Velocity to address one of the fundamental industry challenges. “Patient recruitment is still the biggest problem in clinical trials,” he says. “I want Velocity to set a new industry standard for delivering high-quality study data as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Paul holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of London. He has served on the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) Board of Trustees since 2017 and chaired the committee in 2020.

William Furness

Treasurer

William (Will) Furness is the Chief Executive Officer of Centricity Research, one of North America’s largest and most respected integrated research organizations. Appointed in October 2023, Will brings a wealth of leadership experience in scaling multisite healthcare organizations and advancing patient-centered care.

Prior to joining Centricity Research, Will served as CEO of Thriveworks, a national multisite healthcare practice with over 350 locations. His career spans senior leadership roles at prominent organizations, including Dartmouth College, Sound Physicians, and Vein Clinics of America (VCA), where he developed and executed strategies to enhance patient experiences, improve outcomes, and support healthcare teams.

Will holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree in Healthcare Delivery Science from Dartmouth College. He was also a Fellowship Scholar at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, reflecting his dedication to advancing healthcare delivery.

Carlos Orantes

Secretary

As CEO of Alcanza Research, Carlos Orantes provides leadership and strategic direction for the site network. With nearly 30 years of experience within the life sciences industry, his career has included executive leadership, operational management, LEAN Six Sigma process improvement, as well as systems and technology deployment.

Priot to that, Carlos served as Executive Director, Site Operations for Accelerated Enrollment Solutions, a business of PPD and ThermoFisher Scientific. There, he led the site operations for the Americas site operations in support of the company’s vast global clinical trial network.
Carlos was also CEO at Amplify Clinical and Accel Research Sites, where he led the company to private equitysale.

Carlos earned a master’s of business administration degree from Old Dominion University, and a bachelor of science degree in biology from George Washington University. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Six Sigma Academy.

EB McLindon

Director

E.B. is an entrepreneur experienced in executive management, startup & turn-around situations, clinical development, business development, strategic planning/development, and enabling technologies in various industries. Prior to starting Helios, E.B. was a Senior Vice President at ICON plc and drove the development of their site and patient strategy – including ICON’s global clinical research site network, its home health provider (home nursing), global patient recruitment and retention services, and developing operating solutions to deliver decentralized clinical trials (DCTs). He is the author of many white papers focused on patient engagement and site support, as well as DCT technologies deployment.

Prior to joining ICON, E.B. was a co-founder of Accelovance, a US-based clinical research site network. The company was recognized at the 2009, 2010, and 2011 World Vaccine Congress as the Best Vaccine Clinical Research Organization.

AMRC Community Guidelines

AMRC is committed to creating a respectful, professional and inclusive environment for our members, staff, and associates. We expect all members of our community to behave appropriately within our community spaces and events.

Be respectful

Treat all members with professionalism and courtesy. Disagreement is acceptable, but personal attacks, harassment, or offensive language will not be tolerated.

Engage constructively

Share insights, ask thoughtful questions, and contribute to discussions in a way that fosters learning and collaboration. Use AMRC platforms to build connections and exchange ideas respectfully.

Keep it relevant

Contributions should be focused on topics related to MCRCs, clinical research, and AMRC activities. Avoid unrelated promotions, off-topic discussions, or content that does not add value to the community.

Maintain privacy and confidentiality

Respect the privacy of others by not sharing sensitive, proprietary, or personal information without permission. Recording or distributing event content is prohibited unless explicitly authorized.

Don’t share political content

AMRC is a non-partisan organization. Please refrain from sharing content that endorses or opposes political parties, candidates, or figures. Discussions on regulation (both current and pending is allowed).

No collusion

Discussions on pricing, rates, or strategies that could influence competition will not be tolerated at AMRC events or in our online spaces. This includes conversations that could lead to allegations of market manipulation or unfair practices.

Report any concerns

If you encounter inappropriate behavior or content, report it to AMRC staff or group administrators immediately.

Enforcement and moderation

AMRC reserves the right to address any violations of these guidelines, which may include removing individuals from events, online platforms, or prohibiting them from attending future engagements.

Thank you for contributing to creating a collaborative and professional AMRC community. For questions or concerns, contact info@amrc.org.