“It is important that you start with the big picture” - Dr. Manfred Stapff This is episode Dr. Manfred Stapff, Chief Medical Officer at TriNetX shares with us the use and application of real-world data in clinical trial. Manfred Stapff is a physician and board-certified clinical pharmacologist with an extensive career in clinical and pharmaceutical medicine. He was formerly an Executive Director at Actavis, Forest Laboratories, and Merck and also served as a Medical Officer in the German Air Force. Manfred earned his MD and Ph.D. from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. In this interview, Manfred shares his personal story as a general physician for pilots to an industry professional in clinical trials. Manfred also has exceptional advice for physicians looking to get into clinical research. To wrap up, we talk about his role as a liaison between medical science and clinical operations.   I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Manfred Stapff. Listen to it on iTunes.Stream by clicking here.Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.” Selected Links from the Episode: Connect with Manfred LinkedIn Lancet Drug Information Association (DIA) Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Journal of Clinical Hypertension American Heart Association (AHA) New England Journal of Medicine (NJEM) TriNetX Merck Good Clinical Practice ICH Show Notes: About TriNetX [02:15] The changing landscape in protocol design [04:16] How TriNetX is helping scientist and health care organizations [06:57] What types of people are companies like TriNetX hiring [10:54] Transitioning from general physician for pilots to Merck [13:32] Advice for medical school students and graduates interested in clinical research [18:12] Working at CROs - what to expect [23:27] Why patient enrollment is challenging [25:29] Why should sites consider being part of networks such as TriNetX [28:11] How clinical (medical) and industry can be advantageous to you [31:08] Importance of doing the “dirty work” in clinical research [32:46] Importance of doing the “dirty work” in clinical research [32:46] Being open to other people’s opinions [36:30] Dealing with tension between science and clinical operations [28:43] Keeping yourself informed about new clinical treatments and scientific findings [46:41] QUESTION: What was most useful for you in this episode? Leave me a comment below and thanks for listening.