Meet the HSG Staff members:
Patric Donaghue - HSG Financial Controller
Shari Kinel - HSG Executive Director
Elise Kayson - HSG Head Study Coordinator
Jillian Lowell - HSG Event Planner, Web site Coordinator
Liz McCarthy - HSG Administrative Manager
Suzanne Robertson - Associate HSG Executive Director for Scientific Affairs
Mary Slough - HSG Administrator for Ira Shoulson (HSG Executive Committee Chair)
Patric Donaghue
HSG, Financial Controller
University of Rochester
HSG Coordination Center
June 2009
Patric Donaghue, MBA, EA, Financial Controller: Mr. Donaghue is a Research Associate faculty member within the Clinical Trials Coordination Center (CTCC) within the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester. He has responsibility for Administrative and Financial activities associated with the CTCC and the Huntington Study Group. He has over 23 years experience in health care finance and administration, having held positions in the pharmaceutical industry and human service, not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Donaghue has extensive experience in clinical trials administration including pre and post award management.
February 2009
Shari Kinel is the Executive Director to the Huntington Study Group. As Executive Director, she will oversee governance, grants, contracts and selected projects of the HSG and provide legal counsel and assistance for critical programs. Shari is an attorney who has over 15 years of diverse legal experience in a variety of industries including government, financial services, and pharmaceuticals.
Shari started her career at the US Department of Labor and the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC. She then joined Chase Manhattan’s Bank’s legal team in 1992. Since 1998, Shari has been active in her own practice representing organizations in business matters involving regulatory compliance, contracts, and corporate policies and procedures. She also spent time on the legal staff at Celltech Pharmaceuticals. Shari is a graduate of Brandeis University and she earned a law degree from SUNY Buffalo. She is admitted to practice law in both New York State and the District of Columbia. A native of Rochester, Shari has been an active member and advisor for several not-for-profit organizations in the community where she lives with her husband and twelve year old twins.
Shari is excited about working with the HSG and says, “I am honored to be a part of such an innovative team and an organization that has such a strong and positive mission. I look forward to working with the extended HSG team and to helping the organization continue to accomplish its objectives.”
Elise Kayson, MS, RNC
HSG Head Study Coordinator (Term 2008-2011)
Senior Research Associate
February 2009
Elise Kayson currently serves as the Head Study Coordinator for the Huntington Study Group (HSG) and is a member of the HSG Executive Committee. Her role in this position includes oversight of HSG studies and implementation of educational programs for the HSG site investigators and coordinators. The main emphasis of the HSG educational program has been on initiation and implementation of clinical trials efficiently and effectively.
Elise is on faculty of the Department of Neurology and the School of Nursing at the University of
Rochester.She has her Masters in Nursing from the University of Rochester School of Nursing and is a licensed Nurse Practitioner with an active collaborative practice of Huntington and Parkinson disease patients.
Elise has more than 20 years experience in pharmaceutical based research both commercial and academic. Prior to working at the university she was employed by Fisons Corporation. Elise is also the Director of Project Coordination for the Clinical Trials Coordination Center (CTCC) at the University of Rochester with a primary interest in clinical trial design, informed consent process and data collection tools for HD and PD studies. Elise has served as the Senior Project Manager for numerous clinical studies most notably PHAROS and PREDICT-HD the first observational studies in individuals at-risk for HD. She has also participated on the steering committees for a number of Huntington disease trials.
Elise is looking forward to working with the HSG sites to enhance their knowledge of implementation of clinical trials in HD. She notes that, “offering courses to research site personnel will provide them with the opportunity to think through processes, plan early and be able to hit the ground running when clinical trials are available for patients and families.”
Jillian Lowell
HSG Event Planner, Web Site Coordinator
HSG Coordination Center
May 2010
Jillian Lowell was hired in 2008 for the Huntington Study Group at the Clinical Trials Coordination Center. Jillian acts as the HSG Event Planner along with the Web site Coordinator.
Jillian was born in and raised in Western New York. She began her college experience at SUNY Cobleskill where she received her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She continued her education at SUNY Brockport and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree of Science in Psychology. Jillian worked in the restaurant industry for ten years before being hired at the University of Rochester.
Jillian looks forward to continuing her work with the HSG !
June 2009
Liz McCarthy is currently the Administrative Manager for the Huntington Study Group. This position entails planning the Huntington Disease Clinical Research Symposium, serving on and assisting various HSG Committees, such as the Executive Committee, Credentials Committee, and Nominating Committee, aiding the planning of the HSG Annual Meeting and serving other administrative purposes.
Liz was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in International Studies with a double minor in Anthropology and Studio Art. After college, she stayed in Richmond as an Administrative Assistant for the Department of Theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University. Upon returning to Rochester in 2007, she worked as a Manager at a local party and tent rental company, and in 2008 she began her position at the University of Rochester for the Huntington Study Group.
Suzanne Robertson, Ph.D. Associate HSG Executive Director for Scientific Affairs
HSG Coordination Center
February 2009
Suzanne promotes and oversees the scientific endeavors of the HSG, including management and review of scientific grants; administrative and fiscal monitoring, reporting, and compliance of grant awardees; and oversight of the Scientific and Bioethics Review Committees.
Suzanne received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and graduated with a Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Pharmacology from The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. She began her career in academic research in 2000 as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, NY, before accepting a faculty appointment in the Division of Vascular Surgery in 2004. Suzanne transitioned in to the Department of Neurology/Clinical Trials Coordination Center in 2008 where she also manages the HSG’s largest observational study, COHORT. She is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, Association of Clinical Research Professionals and the American Heart Association. Although a native of Ireland, Suzanne now lives with her husband and two children in Pittsford, NY.
Mary Slough
HSG Administrator for Ira Shoulson (HSG Execuitve Committee Chair)
HSG Coordination Center
June 2009
Mary Slough has been the assistant to Dr. Shoulson, Chair of the Huntington Study Group (HSG) since March 2003. Mary is an integral part of the HSG team, attending on- and off-site HSG-related meetings to ensure meeting goals and logistics are met. She professionally represents the Huntington Study Group to pharmaceutical sponsors and representatives, Huntington disease research scientists, notable members of the HSG community, and university dignitaries.
Prior to working at the University of Rochester, Mary worked at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology for 10 years. NTID is the world’s largest technical college for deaf students. Mary was the administrator to the Chair of the English Department at NTID, assisting the Chair in the oversight of a multi-million dollar annual budget, reviewing monthly ledger accounts, working in the English Learning Center (ELC) laboratory with the students and setting up class schedules.
Mary continues her commitment to the goals and mission of the Huntington Study Group. She is proud to be part of the accomplishments of the HSG.