Envision Research | Excellent Clinical Research

Vassia Roulia, exec. MBA, MS Pharmacology

Vassia Roulia, Executive Director, leads BRF’s business development and research operations at Envision Research LLC.

Vassia has extensive experience in leadership and management positions in multi-facility health care organizations and academic medical centers, and is responsible for fostering community partnerships and interinstitutional collaborations, and supports clinical and translational research initiatives.

Vassia’s core competencies include successful management of Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, administration of multi-institutional regional and national grants, excellence in physician relations, streamlining of processes for operational effectiveness and regulatory compliance, strategic planning and strategic decision making, and multi-million budget management.

Prior to joining the Foundation, she held positions at the University of Michigan’s departments of Dermatology and Neurology in Ann Arbor, the University of Florida’s Department of Neurology, and Neurology Service at Gainesville’s VA Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida. In Phoenix, Arizona, she directed the Clinical Neurobiology and Bioengineering Research Center at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, founded and directed Banner Health System’s Office of Grants Strategy Development and Administration, provided scientific and business leadership at Scottsdale Healthcare’s Clinical Research Institute, and served as the Business Director of the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Moving to Louisiana, Ms. Roulia served as the Liaison for Clinical Partnerships at Louisiana Tech University. She joined the Foundation in 2015 as the Vice President for Research Development and Administration and served as the Chief Research Officer at the University Health System.

Vassia is a member of national research organizations such as ACRP, SOCRA, SCRS, PRIM&R, HCCA, MGMA, and has served on committees to support state-wide initiatives such as the ADCRC / FLINN Foundation’s Translational Research Project Advisory Committees for the Arizona Biosciences Roadmap, Arizona Proteomics Alliance Executive Committee, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) Biosafety Committee and the Advisory Board of the Health Care Innovation and Clinical Trials Center of the Arizona State University.

Vassia holds an executive MBA from the University of Florida, in Gainesville, FL., a MS in Pharmacology and BS in Chemistry with minor in Biochemistry, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Kris Ypya

Kris Ypya, Business Manager, is responsible for contract and budget negotiations with clinical trial sponsors, CROs, subcontractors, and vendors, as well as accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Kris has worked for the BRF since 1995 in various capacities in the Finance and Administration department and the Center for Molecular Imaging and Therapy.

Prior to joining the BRF, she worked for a medical group in Dallas, Texas as an Area Administrator over three occupational medicine/urgent care clinics. That experience included supervision of all aspects of each of each clinic’s administrative operations, including human resources, accounting, as well as billing and collections.

Jacob Thomassie (BS)

Jacob Thomassie, Business Analyst, has 4 years of experience with project management, data mining and data analysis in clinical research.

Jacob assists with the acquisition and analysis of data from regional and industry healthcare and compiles reports that help guide business decisions. He also creates and maintains timelines and metrics for Envision Research processes to assess and ensure the quality of the company’s services. He continues to expand his research knowledge with courses from the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative and PPD’s SiteCoach program.

Jacob holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Computer Information Systems from the College of Business at Louisiana Tech University.

Pepper Lumina, BS, CCRP

Pepper Lumina, Clinical Research and Regulatory Coordinator, has 23 years of research experience, starting with genetic research at the University of New Hampshire where she worked as a Research Associate. She later completed a LSUHSC- IRB training and became a Regulatory Coordinator for the Children’s Clinical Research Center at Louisiana State University Hospital in the Department of Pediatrics.

Pepper received her Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) training and certificate in 2004 and started working as a Study Coordinator. She has 9 years of pediatric research experience and 10 years of Parkinson’s Disease/Movement Disorder research experience. She has completed many NIH and pharmaceutical sponsored studies and spent 2 years working with children at the St. Jude Clinic at LSUHSC.

Pepper completed her BS and a master’s course in advance genetic laboratory procedures at the University of New Hampshire and spent a year at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She also completed a certificate program in computer science in 1995. She continues to expand her knowledge with courses through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA), Society of Clinical Research Sites and PPD’s SiteCoach program.

Laura Liu, BS, RN, CCRC

Laura Liu, Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator, offers on-site services to carry out daily clinical research activities, provides protocol specific training to research and clinic staff, maintains research databases, performs internal audits of study records for quality assurance, and serves as lead contact for study monitors, physicians, and patients.

Laura has been a nurse for over 13 years with experience in a general medical/surgical inpatient unit, emergency department, family practice, mental health, pulmonary, and oncology practices. She has also been engaged in clinical research for 9 years, involved in over 23 studies with a wide range of indications, and became a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC) through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals in 2014. She recently moved to the area with her family, joined the Envision Research team in August, and is excited to help bring more clinical trial opportunities to the people of the ArkLaTex region.

Laura earned her Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology, with a secondary major in Industrial and Labor Relations, and a minor in Economics from Kansas State University. She also received her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (RN) from Southwestern Illinois College. She continues to expand her knowledge with courses through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, Association of Clinical Research Professionals, Society of Clinical Research Sites, PPD’s SiteCoach program, and TransCelerate.

Melodie Armstrong, MD, MPH

Dr. Armstrong, Medical Director / Principal Investigator, has 29 years of clinical practice experience in primary care at inpatient, outpatient, and rural HIPSA designated sites. Dr. Armstrong has also worked in industry for over 6 years and has been a Medical Advisor, Principal Investigator or Sub-investigator for over 110 clinical trials in all phases including; early phase, specialty populations, and pediatric trials; covering a broad range of indications including psoriatic arthritis, internal medicine, gout, hyperlipidemia, asthma, and pain.

Dr. Armstrong earned her medical degree (MD) from Tulane University School of Medicine New Orleans, LA, a Master of Public Health degree (MPH) from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a BA degree in Biology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, and has had postgraduate courses and training in Preventive Medicine, Clinical Research and Monitoring, Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. Armstrong is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Practice.

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