MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: APRIL MÛNIZ

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

My name is April Muñiz (pronounced moo-n-yees’) and I’ve been in the Charlottesville area since I graduated from JMU in 1990. I have a master’s degree from George Washington University in Health Sciences – Clinical Research Administration and currently work as a project manager for a company called Veradigm, which is headquartered in Chicago, although I’ve yet to meet any coworkers who live or work in Chicago? We work closely with pharmaceutical companies to leverage Electronic Health Records systems to gain access to real world information that will advance their research efforts by making research more accessible to clinical practices and their patients. Not to worry, it’s all done on the up-and-up with great care and scrutiny to protect patient health information.

What do you love most about the work? 

I’ve been involved in clinical research for over 30 years and what I love most about my work is that it is constantly changing. Advances in the worlds of information technology and data science have dramatically changed the way drugs are brought to market and what we know about them (and the people who take them) once they are approved.

What inspires you?

I like being part of a system that it is providing solutions to the healthcare industry.  During my career, I’ve helped manage studies for ground-breaking treatments that have helped patients with serious illnesses and rare diseases and that have drastically improved the quality of life for others.

How did you arrive at this place?  What’s your backstory?

I fell into clinical research right out of college after having been exposed to it as a research participant at the National Institutes of Health. I worked for PRA Health Sciences for 17 years, before venturing on to do some other things like managing Horse & Buggy Produce, a local foods cooperative, from the old Ix factory building where the Ix Art Park now resides, joining the Peace Corps and volunteering for two years in Senegal, and managing catering events for Harvest Moon before finally making my way back to clinical research six years ago.

Was there a light switch moment? A turning point for you (professionally &/or personally)?

I have to say that the best thing I ever did for my career was take a break from it.  It allowed me to pursue some other interests, build new skills, and follow other paths.  During my eight-year hiatus I strengthened my confidence in tackling new things, met some amazing people,and really broadened my world.

Could you share a memorable story from your professional path thus far?

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, I was assigned to be a Community Economic Development agent, working with artisan business owners to improve their market reach, teaching entrepreneurial skills to high school students, and finding income-generating projects for women’s groups. Those were my primary tasks, however, the real need in my community was assisting my local counterpart in developing an environmental education program for a group of 50 advanced elementary school students to help them understand the effects that climate change and poor land stewardship have had on their community.  This ended up being the project that I spent the most time working on, developing curriculum, meeting with local school administrators, and holding Saturday classes with the students.  After I returned to the States, the kids that I had been working with finished their 3-year program with the local volunteers working on the project. The following year, the program began again with a fresh new group of students and my counterpart informed me that they had named the program after me “Eco-Ecole Fatou Ndiaye” (my local given name). I get pictures on a regular basis of the work they are doing to plant trees, manage and reduce waste, and create alternative fuel sources. It’s pretty great to see this new generation of kids carrying the work forward.

What's on the horizon? What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

Currently, I’m working with a client to better understand the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccinations and to use that information to educate physicians in areas where there has been high levels of vaccine resistance.

How do you see your work evolving? 

 As regulations continue to develop to keep up with the advances in life sciences solutions, I think we will see a lot more reliance on real-world data and real-world evidence as new drugs are developed, which can help speed that process and get drugs to market faster and safely.

What is the single most important thing to you in your work each day?

The most important thing I do each day is not really related to work. It’s my 30-minute early morning DuoLingo Spanish lesson. I mean, really, a Mexican American that doesn’t speak Spanish. I’m currently on a 344 day streak!  Hay alguien que quiera practicar conmigo?

How has your experience at Studio IX been?

I switched jobs during the COVID lockdown and so I went from working-from-home-due-to-the-pandemic to working-from-home-because-my-job-is-now-remote. That was a mental game-changer for me.  I’d already spent 14 months alone at home and knew that I really had to get out of the house. I love the flexibility of Studio IX and the opportunity to run into people I know as well as meet new folks.  I live about 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville, so being in town a couple of days a week makes is easier to run errands, go to the gym, and catch up with friends downtown. I also love that there’s always a great soundtrack playing in the background, the smell of fresh coffee that wafts in the air, and the soft murmur the hive.