BSMS > About BSMS > Working here > Inclusivity > PST spotlights > Staff spotlight: Amy Arbon

Staff spotlight: Amy Arbon

Name: Amy Arbon

Job title: Senior Trial Manager & Quality Assurance Manager

Department: Brighton and Sussex Clinical Trials Unit, Dept of CEM, BSMS

Year started at BSMS: Officially 2023 but had an honorary contract since around 2018.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I did a Medical Science degree, and an MPhil in Reproductive Biology, knowing that I was interested in all things to do with human health and science but not really knowing how I wanted to use that in a career. After a few years in various lab-based research roles I discovered clinical trials which was a bit like a lightning bolt of realisation! It combines all my interests of front-line research, healthcare, science, and academia. Over the last 17 years I have worked within both the University Academic Institutions and NHS clinical research teams, in various roles including data management, trial monitoring, trial management and now my current role.

What’s the day-to-day of your role like?

No two days are the same! My role is split – as a senior Trial Manager I lead our team of wonderful trial managers, so I spend time catching up with them on their trial progress, and problem solving within our current studies. With my Quality Assurance Manager hat on, I can be running internal audits to check our processes are following our Standard Operating Procedures and regulatory requirements, meeting with new researchers to hear about their grant application ideas or helping design and set-up new studies. I also do some teaching on the BSMS Clinical Trial Management module.

What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?

I love the variety in my job. Each and every clinical trial I work on is so different to the last, there is never the same problem twice, so it always feels fresh and new. A bit like the first day of school on repeat, meeting new people, new subjects and learning about new clinical specialities.

In terms of successes, which accomplishments are you most proud of?

I was very proud to achieve my MPhil. It was a tough slog, and the research definitely wasn’t going my way for a while (does it ever?!) but by the end of it I had some great findings, a few research papers with my name on and a huge thesis. A second accomplishment which jumps out to me is from when I first moved to Brighton and worked at the (now) University Hospitals Sussex. I was the very first Data Manager within the Research and Development team, so I set-up all the processes and developed new documentation required for efficient data management within the clinical trials teams, from scratch. This paved the way for now a whole department of Data Managers! In more recent years, accomplishments are less obvious, as clinical trials take years to get results, so achievements need to be much smaller, such as getting the first participant enrolled in a new study or getting a new study through ethics review.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

How do you contribute to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment at work?

I think instinctively I am a people person, and empathetic to people and their needs and wishes. I believe even simple praise like ‘thank-you’ and ‘well done’ goes a long way, and my aim is to treat people the way that I would like to be treated. I always aim to be approachable and encourage people to come to me with questions or concerns, to collaboratively work on solutions. We are a relatively small department at the CTU, meaning we all work very closely together, jumping in and out of each other’s business, so good communication and collaborative working really help people feel heard and valued. Any new staff members instantly become part of the CTU ‘family,’ and we actively encourage extra-curricular activities, from morning mindfulness sessions, to LazerQuest!

Tell me something about you that most people don’t know about you.

Hmm. I think I am a pretty open book, if you get talking with me over the kettle you will probably find out a lot! However, maybe this one: I used to play the steel pans in a marching steel pan band!