Mark Marchant, MPH, MBA, CCRP

205.934.2098

Mark began serving as the Director of the Clinical Trials Administrative Office (CTAO) in May 2016. Prior to returning to the School of Medicine, he spent 5 ½ years in the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health in various administrative roles as a part of the Pharmacoepidemiology and Economic Research (PEER) Group. Mark began his research career in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology in 2004 where he worked in the Arthritis Clinical Intervention Program (ACIP) conducting Phase I-IV clinical trials. He holds a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Science all from UAB. Mark is also a Certified Clinical Research Professional through the Society of Clinical Research Associates and a member of the Drug Information Association.

Fekisha Vaughan Guyton, MPA, MSSW, LMSW

205.934.7130

During her 25-year tenure of continuous UAB experience, Fekisha has served primarily in the roles of Program Manager and Data Analyst. Her career spans several UAB entities, including the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the School of Public Health/Biostatistics Unit. As a member of the Society for Clinical Trials, she facilitated database management and manipulation presentations, and workshops, and contributed to several publications. Fekisha is a licensed social worker in the field of clinical/medical social work, with interests in mental health, health equity, and patient-centered outcomes. She earned a Master of Public Administration/Management Information Systems (Troy University). She is also a three-time UAB alumna (Bachelor and Master of Science in Social Work, Bachelor of Art in Sociology). As Functional Manager of the CBR/CTAO, Fekisha is responsible for quality control and assurance, the execution of the coverage analyses process, clinical trials financial compliance, and CBR technology management.

CTAO Clinical Billing Review Analysts

205.996.9754

After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in General Health Studies from The University of Alabama, Shameka started her career at UAB in 2003. She has been provided with many opportunities to work in several areas of research. She has worked in the areas of recruitment, administration, and coordinating numerous research protocols in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition Sciences. Shameka worked in the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center (OCCC) as a Clinical Trials Specialist. She was responsible for being familiar with each protocol as it pertained to the Breast Cancer Research Studies, entering data into Electronic Case Report Forms, as well as working closely with Clinical Research Associates for Industry and Investigator-Initiated trials. She was promoted to the OnCore team as a Clinical Trials Administrator. In this role, she was involved in the calendar build process in the OnCore system for several disease groups, to create Clinical Trial Billing Notices. While working at the OCCC, Shameka decided to pursue and was awarded a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August 2018. Currently working in Clinical Billing Review, she reviews budgets and performs coverage analyses for several assigned therapeutic areas.

Nivedita Patkar, MSPH, MSHI 

205.975.2441

Nivedita has over 17 years of experience working on national and international clinical trials in various therapeutic areas as well as on research studies sponsored by the NIH, PCORI, FDA, and pharmaceutical industries. She has experience in research in UAB’s Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and in the Emergency Medicine department. Nivedita has been a core team member in writing grant proposals and scientific manuscripts and has over thirty publications in peer-reviewed journals. As a regulatory manager, she has also been responsible for IRB submissions, including to the WCG IRB and ADVARRA, and has been an administrative manager for OnCore and Clinical Trials Billings portfolio at UAB’s Emergency Medicine department. Nivedita is a UAB alumnus, having obtained her Masters in Outcomes Research in 2006. While acting as a CBR Analyst, with several assigned therapeutic groups, she regulates clinical trials' financial compliance and performs coverage analyses.

Kimberly Robinson, LBSW, BSW, BA

205.996.7573

Kimberly (Kym) has provided over 19 years of research experience to UAB in Preventive Medicine and with the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center (OCCC). Her work involved direct patient navigation to cancer patients on standard care and therapeutic clinical trials for treatment. As a team member, she was instrumental in increasing and retaining African American cancer patients in therapeutic clinical trials at the OCCC for over nine years. These actions led to published works and recognition for UAB. Kym received both her BA and BSW degrees from UAB. As a licensed social worker, she has provided education, team building, and support to patients, people in the community, community organizations, and healthcare professionals. For five years she helped lead and implement New Light, a Komen Community Grant, which also produced a breast cancer support group. Kym’s ability to work with all parties of the research team helped her to achieve her desired career goals. Her other areas of research experience include chart abstraction and health education. Currently, as a CBR Analyst, Kym is responsible for the targeted budget reviews, and the coverage analysis process of various clinical therapeutic areas.

Shirley Robinson, BA

205.934.3187

Shirley has served in several roles within Patient Account Billing during her initial and post-retirement employment with The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has contributed her skills to several UAB departments and entities, including Coding and Billing with UAB Hospital's Patient Financial Services. Shirley is a Certified Patient Account Representative (CPAR) and has secured a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from UAB. She is responsible for the coverage analysis, and targeted budget reviews, of clinical trial submissions from various research therapeutic areas.