Jeff Baldwin '94 says his initial motivation to enter the field of clinical trials research wasn't particularly complicated. He wanted to help people - as many as he could. At the time, he was working as a pediatric nurse in Florida, a job he fondly recalls as his "first love." However, when Baldwin began working as a nurse for clinical pharmaceutical trials, he was struck by the potential benefits that cutting edge research held for patients. "In some cases, we were seeing very dramatic impacts... using treatments that were not yet approved by the FDA."
Since his first exposure to clinical trials, Baldwin has steadily progressed into more supervisory positions. After several years overseeing Amgen's clinical trial monitors in the Southeastern US and Western Canada, Jeff was promoted to a position as Supplier Governance Senior Manager with the company last year. While his early work in research consisted largely of one-on-one contact with individuals, Baldwin's more recent positions have brought increased perspective on the large-scale impact that research can have.
From a managerial standpoint, he is able to watch the progress of new treatments as they move from the experimental stage toward becoming important elements of widespread therapies. Looking back at his early clinical trial days in Florida, Baldwin says that "out of those trials came some of the treatments that are now commonly prescribed as part of HIV therapies. There's a lot of satisfaction that I've derived from my career path. The work I do now is impacting thousands of people every day."
Working in clinical trials has brought Baldwin into contact with thousands of participants, each with their own unique reasons for involvement. "Some are motivated out of pure altruism," says Baldwin. "Some have gone through other therapies that weren't working and are looking for new options. There are some who can't get health insurance coverage." What is understood by everyone, though, is that their participation could lead to discoveries which will positively impact the lives of thousands.
Baldwin looks back on his days at Hopkins with pride and a sense of gratitude. "Hopkins," he says, "gives you insight into the research side of nursing - it shows you that there's so much more than you think that goes into meeting the challenge of health care every day." Without this early awareness for the breadth of health care research, Baldwin says his career path could well have been different.
--Robby MacBain
