Jennifer Jones-McMeans, PhD, is the Divisional Vice President of Global Clinical Affairs for Abbott’s Vascular Business based in Santa Clara, California. Since joining Abbott as a clinical research scientist nearly 14 years ago, Jennifer has worked on gaining approval of numerous vascular devices, in the USA and around the world. She has led many clinical trials, including those for resorbable technologies designed to treat cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, the latter of which disproportionately affects, African American, Native American and Latino communities. Through her work, Jennifer has become one of the leading experts in clinical trial design strategy for vascular devices
A study of women’s participation in cardiovascular clinical trials revealed that only 38% of participants were women. But if women comprise 50 percent of the population, that should be reflected in clinical trials too.