Amanda’s Story

Clinical Trial Story

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 17 years old. I began experiencing symptoms during my junior year of high school. Three months later, two-and-a-half weeks of school missed, and two surgeries to resolve fistulas, I was diagnosed. My care team and I began two years of exploring and tweaking my medication regimen until we finally found a treatment that worked. Fast forward seven years, I began developing antibodies against this medication and was placed on a different biologic which I have been on ever since.

It didn’t take long to find a regimen that worked, and my symptoms have, for the most part, stayed at bay. Through my involvement with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, I participated in Team Challenge and I had the privilege to meet many peers who suffer from Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. After hearing their stories and learning of their struggles, it touched my heart and made me grateful for the hand I had been dealt thus far. As fate allowed, each time I needed to change my medication regimen, new drugs had become available for me to try. When I began each of these new medications, it sparked my interest in research. I became fascinated by the process in which drugs were developed, how we learned about the various disease states, and how treatment regimens were developed.

Currently, I am employed in the clinical research field. I am a research coordinator and patients meet with me to discuss clinical trials or for study visits. I have also been a regulatory coordinator where it was my responsibility to ensure each clinical trial conducted at the hospital where I was employed was approved by the ethics committee and the hospital research team functioned under Good Clinical Practices. Additionally, I have worked alongside a pharmaceutical company in managing clinical trials across multiple research sites.

When I heard about the Clinical Trials Ambassador program, I immediately knew this would be my way to give back to my community. While I do not have experience as a clinical trials patient, I feel that my knowledge of working in the research field, along with my history as a patient can provide the support and guidance my peers would need while considering participation in clinical trials.

Hometown: Finleyville, Pennsylvania