Dr. Candice Sareli
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA .— Dr. Candice Sareli, former vice president and chief medical research officer at the Memorial Healthcare System (MHS), has been named NSU Health’s vice president of human research affairs.
She will also serve as associate dean of research in Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (KPCAM). She joins the university May 1.
As the university’s health system’s first vice president of human research affairs, Dr. Sareli’s primary role will be to advance the university’s clinical research initiatives, serving all eight NSU healthcare colleges as they expand and enhance their clinical trials through NSU Health. The role involves setting strategic research priorities, fostering collaboration among departments, securing funding, and ensuring compliance with ethical and regulatory standards.
“Dr. Sareli is an accomplished and distinguished researcher and leader,” said Dr. Chad Perlyn, NSU’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, as well as executive medical director of NSU Health and dean of NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine.
“By supporting clinical trials across all of our healthcare colleges, she will serve as a catalyst in positioning NSU as a national leader in integrating cutting-edge clinical care with exceptional research and training for our students,” Perlyn said. “Dr. Sareli will work closely with faculty, researchers, and external partners to drive innovation in medical science, enhance the university’s research reputation, and translate findings into healthcare solutions.”
“I am very excited to be joining NSU Health and the M.D. college and to growing the clinical trials portfolio for our students, faculty, and community,” Dr. Sareli said. “I look forward to building on NSU’s recently acquired R1 research status to enhance our research impact and bring hope to our patients and families in the form of new treatments, devices, and innovative care strategies.”
Dr. Sareli was the vice president and chief medical research officer for Memorial Healthcare System for the past 14 years. She was responsible for the startup and development of the Office of Human Research (OHR), a centralized research office responsible for the conduct and oversight of more than 600 Phase 1-4 drug and device studies as well as compassionate and emergency use research. She oversaw a team of more than 70 research professionals and the day-to-day operations of OHR’s departments including Research Compliance, Research Finance and Billing, Contracts, Regulatory and Data, Grants and Research Specialists.
Dr. Sareli was the project director for a traumatic brain injury study funded by the U.S. Department of Defense from 2010 to 2014 at Memorial. She also was clinical associate professor of medical education in the Department of Population Health and Social Science and affiliate assistant professor of clinical biomedical science at Florida Atlantic University.
Dr Sareli led MHS’s COVID-19 research efforts during the pandemic allowing Memorial patients to be the first in Florida to receive Remdesivir and allowing more than 1,700 patients to participate in a convalescent plasma study. She led the development of a COVID-19 inpatient research database which continues to support numerous publications.
Prior to moving to South Florida, Dr. Sareli worked at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School’s Pulmonary Division as the director for clinical research from 2005 to 2011. Dr Sareli managed a Clinical Pharmacology Unit for Phase 1-4 trials at the Airways Biology Initiative. She was a member of the Penn Clinical Research Coordination and Advisory committee and chaired the Patient Billing Committee. She enjoys teaching and was an integral part of the onboarding of Graduate Medical Education (GMEC) for MHS where she was a member of the GMEC and a faculty member of the Internal medicine and anesthesia programs.
Dr. Sareli completed her MBBCh medical degree at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and completed her internship at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
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Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is the largest private research university in Florida and a top employer in the state, with more than $5 billion in projected economic impact. NSU is classified as an R1 institution by the Carnegie Foundation among universities with the highest level of research activity. Visit www.nova.edu for more information.
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