Paula Brown Stafford, executive vice president, Integrated Clinical Services at Quintiles, has been appointed chair-elect of the board of directors of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), a global organization dedicated to the development of standards for biomedical research.

CDISC has established worldwide industry standards to support the electronic acquisition, exchange, submission and archiving of clinical study data. CDISC’s goal is to develop and support global, platform-independent data standards that enable information system interoperability to improve medical research and related areas of healthcare. The CDISC board sets strategic direction for the organization.

“CDISC is assisting the industry in eliminating complexity as biopharmaceutical companies strive to be more efficient and productive in drug development,” Ms. Stafford said. “The biopharmaceutical industry is trying to manage constantly evolving data standards. I am very pleased to assume this new role on the CDISC Board, working with a very strong team of experts in our efforts to speed new medicines to market and increase their value to patients.” Ms. Stafford joined the CDISC board in 2006.

Additionally, Gary Walker, associate director, Clinical Data Management for Quintiles, was recently elected CDISC Advisory Board representative to the CDISC Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which provides research and advice to the board on technical issues.