Today’s guest is Jennifer Byrne, a veteran clinical research leader and CEO of Javara, an integrated research organization that has raised over $100 million to modernize how clinical trials are run inside health systems.
Drawing on nearly three decades of experience, Jennifer explains why clinical trials remain largely invisible to patients and clinicians, despite being central to drug and device development. The conversation unpacks how changes in healthcare delivery, increasing trial complexity, and physician burnout have made access to research harder rather than easier. We also explore why patient recruitment isn’t just a technology problem, but a question of trust, infrastructure, and incentives. Ultimately, this episode reframes clinical trials not as a niche research activity, but as a core part of public health, and a test of whether innovation in medicine is truly accessible.