About Access Community Clinical Trials
Our Mission and Values
At Access Community Clinical Trials, our mission is to advance health equity for patients through the power of teamwork, caring, and sharing
We are dedicated to fostering collaborative environments where every team member is valued and empowered to contribute. By prioritizing compassionate care and high-quality data collection, we ensure that our clinical trials meet the highest standards of scientific excellence and respect and address the diverse needs of patients in all communities. Our commitment to health equity drives us to innovate and advocate for accessible, inclusive healthcare solutions, ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to achieve their best health.
Michelle Hurst, RN, CCRC
Chief Executive Officer
Michelle's passion for patient care and service to community led to her co-founding Access Community Clinical Trials with a primary mission to improve health equity for all by ensuring access of diverse populations to clinical trials. Her research career spans over two decades beginning with her developing and directing site management networks in her local city of Baton Rouge. During this time, she also gained experience managing a neurology practice which provided valuable insight into practice operations driving ACCT's commitment to fully supportive, collaborative partnerships with community medical practices.
In 2012, Michelle joined intraFUSION and developed their multisite, multispecialty research network which was acquired by McKesson. She then joined Meridian Clinical Research as Director of Project Management and of Quality, Regulatory and Clinical Data and later as VP Operations and Clinical Data. Upon acquisition of Meridian by Velocity Clinical Research in 2022, she continued as VP Operations and Project Lead for recruitment after serving as Operations Lead on the integration team, seamlessly combining operations of the two organizations.
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Over the years, Michelle has consistently guided research sites in developing standard operating procedures (SOPs), emergency preparedness plans, staffing analyses, technology assessments, and site rescue strategies. She has also supported sites in establishing quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) initiatives and preparing for audits. Additionally, Michelle has conducted financial audits for research sites, successfully recovering hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.
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Building on her extensive experience in the clinical trial industry, Michelle has also consulted with research technology teams, contributing to the development of Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS), regulatory systems, and patient recruitment solutions.
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Throughout her career, Michelle has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to high quality healthcare through innovative clinical trial management promoting compassion and teamwork. As she continues her journey, Michelle remains dedicated to her mission of enhancing patient care and fostering inclusive clinical trials, driving positive change in the healthcare industry.
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Kristi Rau, BS, CCRC
President and Chief Operating Officer
Kristi Rau is the co-founder of Access Community Clinical Trials (ACCT), where she draws on over 25 years of experience in clinical research to lead initiatives aimed at expanding clinical trial access for diverse patient populations. Throughout her career, Kristi has worked across a wide range of healthcare environments, including academic institutions, private practices, hospitals, and independent research centers.
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Kristi began her career as a Clinical Research Coordinator, at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge managing drug and device trials and overseeing large federally funded studies. She then moved to a local academic healthcare system, Ochsner Health system where she managed research operations.
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​Her leadership trajectory continued as she became the Site Operations Manager at GuideStar Clinical Trial Management, overseeing daily research operations across multiple hospitals and oncology centers. Additionally, she served on GuideStar's Site Evaluation Team, traveling nationwide to conduct site evaluations and provide operational consultation. ​
Next she joined the intraFusion Research Network as a Project Manager, supporting multispecialty practices and establishing a Patient Recruitment Program. Kristi then served as Director of Operations at Elligo Health Research, managing clinical research sites nationwide. She was instrumental in rapidly launching multiple COVID-19 vaccine clinics during the early stages of the pandemic. ​
Kristi’s career progressed further at Meridian Clinical Research, where she served as Vice President of Operations, Regulatory, and Lab Services, focusing on operational excellence and regulatory compliance. She continued in her leadership role following Meridian’s acquisition by Velocity Clinical Research.
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In 2024, Kristi co-founded Access Community Clinical Trials with Michelle Hurst to directly address healthcare disparities by increasing clinical trial access for historically underserved populations.
Syed O. Ali, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Ali is a Medical, Cosmetic, and Surgical Research Dermatologist who has been practicing since 2002. He is Board Certified and a Fellow of the American Board of Dermatology. Dr. Ali is a proud graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his Dermatology Residency at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium.
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Since 2012, Dr. Ali has served as Principal Investigator for over thirty clinical research trials. He is deeply committed to expanding patient access to clinical trials and is passionate about mentoring and supporting less experienced investigators.
Jan Loyacano, RN
Regional Director, Northshore
Jan Loyacano’s passion for excellence in healthcare evolved as an RN over 3 decades in various roles as a nurse, Care Manager, Home Health Director, Hospice Administrator, In-patient (physical medical Rehabilitation) Liaison, and Vice President of Physician Relations and Education for Promise LTAC hospitals.
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As a Clinical Research Professional with over 10 years in the industry, she began her research career with IntraFusion Research Network at the NeuroMedical Center in Baton Rouge, LA, in 2014. Boots on the ground experience as a clinical research coordinator, site manager, and assistant project manager, rapidly advanced her research career to a Project Manager role for Neurology sites across the United States, where she was responsible for project and operations management, vendor procurement/relations, recruitment, trial execution, quality assurance/control, and financial QC. She readily admits that she found her “Home” in research which is where she believes she makes the greatest impact on patients, the community, and in the medical industry.
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Jan later joined Meridian Clinical Research as Director of Quality Assurance, spearheading the development of a robust Quality Assurance program. She grew the quality team of 7 to a team of 25 in 6 months. During Meridian’s acquisition by Velocity, she transitioned to the Director of Quality Control position and was instrumental in developing the Risk-Based Quality Control Program for Velocity.
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She believes in always “Doing the right thing” and “Doing it right the first time” and remains diligent in ensuring quality in every aspect of trial conduct across Access Community Clinical Trials sites, as Regional Director, NorthShore.
Janice McLaughlin
Regional Director, California
A Louisiana native, Janice has resided in Los Angeles, CA, since 2007. With a history in medical care and clinical research, she hones her knowledge and compassion with the distinct perspective of having worked on both sides of medicine: providing medical care and being a patient advocate for her young daughters with a rare Leukodystrophy.
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After nearly two decades of serving as a caregiver in the medical field, Janice currently serves as the founder and CEO of the MacPac Foundation. Janice has a storied history working in clinical research, site management, and team building and is uniquely positioned and highly skilled to create a safe environment for patients to feel valued, heard, and included. Excelling at communication, organization, and management, Janice is also passionate about compassionate driven patient care.
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Janice is thrilled and honored to join ACCT on the journey bringing inclusivity and innovation to the field of clinical research.
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