Circuit Connections—Meet Erika
Here at Circuit Clinical, our team has experience across a broad span of multiple therapeutic areas. We believe in sharing this knowledge, experience, and their stories—they are incredibly important and valued as part of our company and culture.
Today, we're interviewing Erika Barba, ST, Regional Research Director-Western New York, as part of our ongoing campaign: Circuit Connections.
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1. Tell us about your clinical research journey and why this work is important to you.
My career started as a Medical Assistant for five years and then as a Surgical Technician for six years. As the Procedure Suite Supervisor/Certified Surgical Tech for a hectic multi-physician urology practice in Buffalo, New York, I supervised 10+ employees while assisting surgeons with out-clinic urologic/fertility procedures. I maintained and managed the schedules of 13+ providers and anticipated their needs for typically 100+ procedures daily, five days a week. I would see many trials come to life led by our in-house research team, and curiosity got the better of me. After mentoring some fantastic team members, I left a place of comfort for a new opportunity as a Research Assistant here with Circuit Clinical. Fast forward one year, and I was promoted to Research Coordinator; after another year of working as a coordinator, I am now the Regional Manager for the Western New York area.
2. What made you want to work in clinical research (and/or healthcare)?
The driving force behind my start in healthcare was wanting to be in a position to help others. I have always shown compassion for others and helped those in need, and the medical field seemed like a good fit. We can still uncover countless treatment options and change the world. Having parents and stepparents with science-focused careers at JPL and NASA and some working as conservationists probably didn't hurt my chances of looking at science-based work as a career choice either.
3. What is an example of a story from your work in clinical research that inspires you?
The work that Circuit has been doing on a food allergy study inspires me. No family should worry about their child potentially having a life-altering reaction to an allergen just from sitting at a cafeteria lunch table in what should be a safe place for children. Fear of the unknown and the dangers that a person with a life-threatening allergy face every time they step out their front door must be exhausting. Doing our part to help change that for these folks inspires me. Knowing what this could lead to in the future for other allergens or even newer and improved treatments should be inspirational for all. There are research studies starting all the time, and I read recently that more work is continuing to find peanut allergy treatments in an article about an injection that patients may one day take to reduce the risk.
To read the article, click here: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-02-10/mouse-study-hints-at-new-treatment-for-peanut-allergy
Borrowed from Marie Curie: "I am among those who think that science has great beauty."