About.

Curious about who we are? Here's a bit of information on how we came to be. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Established in 2020

Mike and Bhavin (below) were two friends with a mission: Help all people ​get the care they need. Clinical trials are a great way to help some with devastating diseases. The only problem was, most clinical trials are out of reach to so many.

Our Goal

Lumi Research aims to bring clinical trials to local oncologists. These trials can then help a broader range of patients, and at the same time build a stronger set of data for certain therapies.​

Our Team

Bhavin Shah, MBA, CPhT, CCRP
CEO, Co-Founder

Bhavin has previously founded successful clinical sites and is a recognized name in the clinical research field.  His vision is simple and straightforward, “Bringing the best treatments to the most people where they live.” 
He started as a benchtop drug researcher at Texas A&M and has worked at major medical institutions honing his experience.  Seeing the limits that institutional bureaucracy imposes in allowing participation in life-saving treatments caused him to walk away from his career and become an entrepreneur to see the problem addressed.  Bhavin has over 20 years of experience in research and managing all-inclusive clinical research teams​.

Jonathan Montiverdi
CTO

Jonathan has worked for several years at #1 cancer center in the world, developing software to manage clinical trials. ​As the burden of organizational constraints grew, he moved on to  work with oncology startups to help better the software used in medical institutions. He has lead software projects in several different fields with many people all over the world. Overall he has 20+ years software development and management experience.​

Linda Yancey, RN
​​CSO

Linda is a clinical research professional with over 25 years in healthcare serving in varied progressive roles. She has a history of optimizing clinical research infrastructures, orchestrating successful multi-institutional academic clinical research consortiums, and strategic pharmaceutical collaborations designed to decrease clinical trial activation timelines, strengthen quality assurance, and reduce financial operating associated costs.
Linda has provided clinical research operations oversight experience (first in man, phase I -III protocols, immune-modulating agents) for several major academic medical centers.

Mike Van Alstine
Late CEO, Co-Founder

Mike spent several years developing what is now the world most utilized clinical trial platform at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center.  There he served as the PI for multiple trials, and streamlined more than 3500 through his clinical trial management system.  Mike has passed on now, but will live in our hearts forever. ​In honor of Mike, on May 10, 2021 the members of PRO Research Management unanimously voted to change the name to Lumi Research to symbolize the path he lit forward for the company.

Lauren Data
COO

With 20+ years of experience in the medical field, Lauren joined Lumi with one goal in mind; to propel Lumi Research towards success.  Working alongside our late CEO,  she trained, developed and managed a large clinical research team and oversaw the execution of over 100 clinical trials for one of the top cancer centers in the nation. Lauren's focus is to ensure that Lumi Research is staffed with a passionate, talented and innovative team.

---

Clinical Research Team

Scott W. Ward, BS, CCRP, CT-C, ACRP-CP
Sr. Clinical Research Coordinator

Scott is a dedicated healthcare professional and Air Force veteran with over 40 years of experience in the medical field. From emergency medicine, inpatient and outpatient care to hospice nursing, Scott delivers care from multiple perspectives which makes him very effective in running clinical trials and earning the clinicians' and patients' trusts alike. Outside of patient care, Scott is passionate in training new and seasoned clinical trial professionals and is instrumental in driving the team's exponential growth. 

Cassandra Franks, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator II

Katrina Esguerra, BSN, RN, CCRP
Clinical Research Nurse

Cassandra joined Lumi with hopes of rekindling her passion for patient advocacy. After working in the healthcare field serving as a care coordinator in various specialties such as fluid therapy and oncology, Cassandra wanted more out of her career. Although Cassandra is new to the clinical trial world, she is already making an impact. She has set her sights to enroll one hundred patients on Lumi's first ever cancer detection trial by April 2024. 

After a decade of working as  Registered Nurse in three different countries, Katrina set her sights in Clinical Research after landing a job as a Clinical Research Pharmacist/Coordinator in 2021. Since then, she received her CCRP certification and has joined Lumi as our very first Research Nurse on staff. Her focus will be to master the ins and outs of oncology treatment and adverse event management while streamlining our clinical collaboration with our partner sites. In the meantime, Katrina is also on track to receive her Master's in Nursing Degree in 2025 and will work towards obtaining her Oncology Nurse certification.

Kolin Kabbes, MS
Sr Clinical Research Coordinator

Kolin's passion for clinical research is contagious. As the newest member of the team, Kolin has emerged as a natural teacher and leader; often stepping up to take on the more complex trials with a smile. Kolin brings his oncology knowledge and expertise from working at other start-up companies and has elevated the team's overall performance and capabilities within just 3 months of joining the team. 

---

Clinical Research Support

Christe Aubespin, MEd
Clinical Trial Assistant

Christe joined Lumi as a retired Special Education educator with over 30 years under her belt. Within a short period, Christe quickly picked up on her essential role as a CTA and continues to provide the team with support and quality assurance prowess. 

Ganiat Asuni, PharmD
Pharmacy Specialist

When she completed her doctorate degree in Pharmaceuticals, Gani personally reached out to Bhavin in hopes of gaining an opportunity to use her research experience to help propel Lumi's mission. Gani has since streamlined multiple processes and has become an integral part of Lumi's Clinical Research Support team. Her pharmacy specialist skills and knowledge continues to elevate the team's overall skill set and strengthening Lumi's IP management. Gani is projected to become board certified by summer of 2024.

We're Here for You 24/7

Need help? Visit our contact page to reach out.