The Human Protocol

Vivexa Partners

Vivexa was founded on a simple belief: the human belongs at the heart of recruitment. Yes, we embrace AI and automation to remove the repetitive tasks and streamline the day-to-day. But technology was never the point. The point is protecting what matters: human judgement, trust, emotion, and the ripple effect that happens when the right person joins the right team. The Human Protocol is the podcast extension of that belief. Because drug development is human too, not just in the professionals designing and running trials, but in the patient whose life sits at the centre of every protocol. In each episode, Theo Savlovschi-Wicks speaks with leaders across clinical research and the service ecosystem around it, from CRO and SMO leadership to advocates and operators working within the realities of trials, to explore the conversations that rarely make it into the headline summary: 🔸Who gets a voice when protocols are designed? 🔸Whose experience shapes what becomes “standard”? 🔸What changes when we intentionally diversify thought, experience and perspective within teams? 🔸And how do leadership decisions ultimately affect patients in the real world? The Human Protocol exists to challenge assumptions, elevate thoughtful leadership, and centre the human at every stage of drug development. Subscribe now to join the conversation and to be part of shaping a more equitable, human-first future for clinical research.

Episodes

  1. Keeping Clinical Trials Going in Ukraine with Anna Titkova

    9 HR AGO

    Keeping Clinical Trials Going in Ukraine with Anna Titkova

    In this episode of The Human Protocol, Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks is joined by Anna Titkova MD, PhD, MBA, Country Head Ukraine and Director of International Operations at Pratia.   Anna shares how building Ukraine’s first dedicated clinical research unit in March 2020 became the beginning of a much larger story about leadership, responsibility, and continuity through crisis.   This is a powerful conversation about clinical research in Ukraine, patient access during conflict, and what it takes to keep trials moving when safety, stability, and certainty can no longer be assumed.   We also explore the human side of trial continuity, from local decision-making and team resilience to the real people behind every protocol, data point, and patient ID.   Key takeaways:   🔸 Why Anna built a clinical research business in Ukraine during the first weeks of COVID 🔸 What happened to patients, sites, and trial teams in the first days of the war 🔸 Why Ukraine should not be written off as a clinical research location 🔸 How sponsors, CROs, and neighbouring countries supported patient continuity 🔸 What extreme circumstances taught Anna about leadership, empathy, and adaptability   Host: Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theoswicks/   Guest: Anna Titkova MD, PhD, MBA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-titkova-clinical-operations-medical-affairs/ Key chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Anna Titkova 04:36 Building Clinical Research in Crisis 07:42 Navigating War, Resilience, and Responsibility 10:46 The Impact of War on Clinical Trials 13:32 Why Ukraine Still Matters in Clinical Research 16:40 Lessons from the International Clinical Research Community 19:40 Leadership, Empathy, and Purpose Under Pressure 25:33 The Future of Pratia Ukraine   The Human Protocol is a podcast from Vivexa, exploring clinical conversations at the intersection of people and trials.   🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on the people shaping clinical research.

    32 min
  2. Building Better Clinical Tech for CRAs with Anna-Liisa Parts

    15 APR

    Building Better Clinical Tech for CRAs with Anna-Liisa Parts

    In the second episode of The Human Protocol, Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks is joined by Anna-Liisa Parts, COO and Co-Founder of Menken Trials.   Anna-Liisa shares her path from genetic engineering into clinical operations, her years as a CRA and clinical lead, and the workload pressures that pushed her to build rather than wait for the system to change. What follows is a grounded conversation about what clinical tech gets right, what it still gets wrong, and why tools built without real operational context rarely solve the problems they promise to fix.   We talk about essential document management, adoption, integration, burnout, and the gap between software built for procurement and software built for the people who actually use it.   We also explore a more human question: what if automation gave CRAs back time to think, connect, and build better relationships with sites?   Key takeaways   🔸 Why Menken Trials started with essential documents and repetitive CRA workload 🔸 Why clinical tech needs real end-user input, not just technical ambition 🔸 What burnout looks like in CRA roles, and why it feels different from management 🔸 Why automation should create more space for human interaction, not less 🔸 Why networking early matters for anyone trying to enter clinical research   Host: Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theoswicks/   Guest: Anna-Liisa Parts LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaliisaparts/   The Human Protocol is a podcast from Vivexa, exploring clinical conversations at the intersection of people and trials.   🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on the people shaping clinical research.

    34 min
  3. Building the CRA Community Nobody Else Would with Maria Milas

    25 MAR

    Building the CRA Community Nobody Else Would with Maria Milas

    In the first episode of The Human Protocol, Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks is joined by Maria Milas, founder of CRAConnect and a leading voice within clinical research.   Recorded during International Women’s Day week, this conversation goes beyond career paths and job titles to explore the reality of working in clinical trials, and the often overlooked role CRAs play in shaping patient outcomes.   Maria shares her journey into the industry from a non-traditional background, what the CRA role actually looks like in practice, and why the biggest challenges in clinical research aren’t always technical, they’re human.   This episode reflects the core of The Human Protocol: understanding the people behind the roles, and how their experiences ultimately shape the way trials are designed, delivered, and experienced.   Key takeaways:   🔸 The CRA role isn’t just operational, it quietly sits at the centre of patient safety and data integrity 🔸 You don’t need a scientific degree to succeed in clinical research but you do need adaptability and strong human skills 🔸 Burnout in the industry often comes from mismatched expectations, not just workload 🔸 Why peer-led communities like CRA Community are becoming essential support systems 🔸 The gap between how technology is built and how it’s actually used in trials 🔸 Why CRAs need more agency, and how that could reshape the industry long term   Chapters:   00:00 Introduction 01:10 Maria’s background and entry into clinical research 05:20 Breaking into the CRA role without a traditional path 09:00 What a CRA actually does day-to-day 15:30 Early career challenges and expectations vs reality 23:50 The reality of workload, pressure, and burnout 30:40 Building CRA Community and supporting others 38:20 Technology in trials: what’s working and what isn’t 44:10 The future of the CRA role 49:30 Final reflections   Host: Theodora Savlovschi-Wicks LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/theoswicks/   Guest: Maria Milas LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariamilas/   The Human Protocol is a podcast from Vivexa, exploring clinical conversations at the intersection of people and trials. Learn more about Vivexa Partners here: https://vivexapartners.com/   🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on the people shaping clinical research.

    49 min

About

Vivexa was founded on a simple belief: the human belongs at the heart of recruitment. Yes, we embrace AI and automation to remove the repetitive tasks and streamline the day-to-day. But technology was never the point. The point is protecting what matters: human judgement, trust, emotion, and the ripple effect that happens when the right person joins the right team. The Human Protocol is the podcast extension of that belief. Because drug development is human too, not just in the professionals designing and running trials, but in the patient whose life sits at the centre of every protocol. In each episode, Theo Savlovschi-Wicks speaks with leaders across clinical research and the service ecosystem around it, from CRO and SMO leadership to advocates and operators working within the realities of trials, to explore the conversations that rarely make it into the headline summary: 🔸Who gets a voice when protocols are designed? 🔸Whose experience shapes what becomes “standard”? 🔸What changes when we intentionally diversify thought, experience and perspective within teams? 🔸And how do leadership decisions ultimately affect patients in the real world? The Human Protocol exists to challenge assumptions, elevate thoughtful leadership, and centre the human at every stage of drug development. Subscribe now to join the conversation and to be part of shaping a more equitable, human-first future for clinical research.