Alumna working on COVID-19 vaccine trials

By Steve Seepersaud

Susan Owen '80

In the march toward an effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine, some of the boots on the ground are at a family medical practice about 10 minutes from Binghamton University.

Susan Owen '80 is a clinical research coordinator for Meridian Clinical Research. The office, located at Endwell Family Physicians in Endwell, N.Y., started as Regional Clinical Research, a medical research company created by two doctors at the Endwell practice. Regional Clinical Research recently merged with Meridian Clinical Research, creating a network of 20 locations across the country, providing investigational research for some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

"Family practice focuses on prevention, so vaccines became a natural area for us to investigate," Owen said. "We started testing vaccines about 15 years ago, and have participated in hundreds of medical trials. The company has tested vaccines for preventing the flu, pneumonia, shingles, meningitis, Zika and Lyme disease, among others, so it wasn't a stretch for us to get involved with COVID-19."

Meridian started testing two potential COVID-19 vaccines in Endwell during the early summer, and will start on a third trial in a few weeks. The more than 600 test subjects are mainly people who remain actively involved in the community, including workers in essential fields such as healthcare, emergency services and retail. Half the people receive the vaccine, while the other half receive a placebo. Neither the doctors nor patients know who receives the real vaccine and who does not.

"The response to our COVID-19 study has been really amazing," Owen said. "We didn't have to do much advertising to find participants. When people in this area heard we were doing the study, there was tremendous interest. People had been feeling helpless and they looked at the study as something positive they could do right now. I give the community a lot of credit for coming forward."

The COVID-19 trials will last for two years, as investigators examine how long the vaccine's protection lasts and if there are side effects.

Owen is in charge of running 10 investigational studies. She sees patients to monitor how well the medications are working, carry out required procedures and monitor safety. She also handles the intake stage with new patients, explaining and making sure they fully understand the informed consent documents, learning the patient's medical history and discussing the various stages of the study.

Meridian is engaged in phase two and three research trials for medications, vaccines and diagnostic tests. Previous studies in Endwell have focused on diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, osteoarthritis and migraine headache drugs.

"I've been doing this job for close to 25 years and I've seen a lot of patients through long-term studies," Owen said. "It's nice to have relationships with patients and see them complete a study. It is a great feeling when a medication proves to be safe and effective, earning FDA approval for a medication.

Meridian Clinical Research has attracted several other Binghamton graduates: Debra Gabrielson ’84, vice president of finance; and Jared Frick ’20 and Jacob Blattstein ’20, clinical research coordinators.