Name: Youshaa El-Abed
Company Name: Clinical Trial Network Inc.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Here is where you can tell readers about your educational/professional background that lead you to create your business.
I just wrapped up my fourth year studying Biological Sciences with Thesis. I spent most of my undergraduate degree getting involved in extracurriculars and working in Dr. Lisa Porter’s cancer research lab, where I investigated the pathways of how brain tumours initiated and progressed. The major commitment that led me to my business was taking on the role as President of UWindsor’s chapter for Friends of Doctors Without Borders. This experience led me to work with the Essex County Medical Society, which allowed me to gain further understanding of how the healthcare system operates within the local community.
2. Tell us about your company
Currently, there are approximately 3,500 clinical trials in Canada that are either recruiting patients or approaching the recruitment stage. Yet there is no mechanism that can easily direct physician-approved patients to these available trials. Hence the objective of our proposed project is to develop a software platform that serves as a tool to match patients with clinical trials. The software will take general health information, inputted by patients, and run an algorithm that sifts through the criteria of available clinical trials using public databases. Based on the patient’s medical conditions, they are then matched with potentially eligible clinical trials.
3. Why do you feel the EPICentre Founders program will be beneficial to growing your company?
The EPICentre provides entrepreneurs like myself with many opportunities to excel our understanding of the business world. I haven’t had as much exposure into the business field and I have full trust that I will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge through the Founder’s Program at the EPICentre to project my business forward.
4. Why do you feel it’s important to have a company like yours in our community?
Clinical trials require the recruitment of enough patients for the study to progress. Surprisingly, the vast majority of patients who may be eligible for clinical trials are unaware of the numerous studies that are available to them. My software increases patient recruitment for clinical trials, as well as reduces the time and cost associated with the current labour demanding procedures of patient recruitment. More importantly, our proposed project also has the potential to increase patient outcomes through increased cures, awareness, research, and education (CARE).
5. Where do you hope to see yourself and your company by the end of this program?
Personally, my major goal is to see an improvement in the way I carry myself in the business world. With respect to my business, I hope to see a functioning product by the end of this program. I’m confident that this can be achieved through proper guidance, persistence, and of course, a lot of hard work.
