hyperCORE International Executive Team

Executive Director

Coming Soon

Carlos E. Orantes

Chairman of the Board

Carlos Orantes is CEO of Alcanza Clinical Research, and brings 30 years of experience in the drug development arena. His efforts have been focused on building capable teams and leading them through transformations at several successful small to large companies, privately and publicly held. He is passionate about empowering team members and holding to a high standard of delivering on commitments. Carlos also serves as hyperCORE’s Co-Chief Diversity Officer.

Karri Venn

Chief Executive Officer

Karri Venn is a founding partner of hyperCORE International, and brings over 22 years of clinical research experience working at Centricity Research as Chief Operations Officer. 

Ms. Venn has led the project management teams for >1500 clinical trials and led the response to  >50 Sponsor & Regulatory audits. Prior to merging with IACT Health to form Centricity Research, LMC Manna received the distinct award as a Centre of Excellence in Diabetes clinical research, PRIME status with IQVIA, awarded in the Top 50 Great Places to Work for Canada and SPRIA winners at the 2017 SCRS conference.

Ms. Venn has been certified in project management through the Project Management Institute, as well as longstanding certification as a Clinical Research Coordinator and Diabetes Educator.

Today, she is a founding Board member of the Canadian Association of Independent Clinical Research Sites (CAICR), hyperCORE International and great supporter of both Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) & Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP).

Dr. Jeff Kingsley

Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Kingsley, DO, CPI, FACRP received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Scranton in 1995 with concentrations in biology, chemistry, history, and cultural anthropology, and his Master of Science degree in 1997 in biochemistry. His medical degree was received from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2001 and his MBA was received from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in 2011. Dr. Kingsley has been faculty with the Columbus Regional Health Family Medicine Residency as well as Director of Family Medicine and Urgent Care. He currently holds faculty appointments with the Mercer School of Medicine and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia.

Dr. Kingsley is CEO of Centricity Research, a research management organization with 40 wholly owned and integrated clinical research offices in the southeastern United States and across Canada. The family of companies conducts phase Ib through IV research in nearly every medical specialty; inpatient and outpatient; pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device. He has dedicated his career to clinical research since 2006. 

He is also the past Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Association for Clinical Research Professionals which represents more than 13,000 clinical research professionals internationally.  He is the former Treasurer for ACRP and APCR, Past President of ABSAME, sits on three additional Boards, and participates on numerous other local, national, and international committees. Dr. Kingsley obtained his CPI in 2009 and his FACRP in 2017. 

Jeffrey Smyth

Chief Financial Officer

Jeffrey Smyth serves as the Executive Director of True Blue Clinical Research, formerly MOORE Clinical Research. He has worked in the healthcare industry since 1985 and holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Management and a Bachelor of Science in Resource Management. He holds the Certified Clinical Research Professional Certification from SoCRA and has developed a program for his high-performing team to seek and obtain the certification as well.  Jeff is committed to creating a culture of hospitality and loyalty for all study participants as well as a culture of accountability, purpose, and attention to detail for the team of professionals he surrounds himself with. He believes that communication and education are the keys to effectively managing an organization. 

Jeff’s clinical research experience began in 2011 at [then] MOORE Clinical Research.  Prior to working in clinical research, Jeff worked in a large hospital organization in Montgomery, Alabama, for over 20 years, gaining valuable leadership and healthcare management experience. His goals are to provide all sponsors, participants and team members of MCR with the highest level of service and satisfaction with a distinct focus on the company’s values: Teamwork, Accountability, Adaptability, Communication and Purpose. 

Dr. Samir Arora

Chief Corporate Development Officer

Dr. Samir Arora attended medical school in Manipal, India. He completed his residency at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he worked on multiple original research studies.

Since then, Dr. Arora has been a Principal and Sub Investigator involved in Phase I-IV clinical research on over 200 studies and serves as our primary Clinical Trial Investigator at our Columbus, Ohio location.

He’s conducted studies in the therapeutic areas of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, pain, asthma, COPD, osteoarthritis, vaccines, hormone replacement therapy, smoking cessation, peptic ulcer disease, and contraception. Dr. Arora’s study on breast feeding received national attention and garnered interviews on major networks and newspapers.

Dr. Arora also holds the prestigious CPI designation by the ACRP, serves as an advisor on various pharmaceutical drug development panels and is a frequent speaker across the country.

Currently, Dr. Arora serves as Medical Director for multiple extended care facilities in the Columbus area and is engaged in the development and management of such care centers. Before his appointment as Chief Growth Officer at Centricity Research, Dr. Arora served as the President and Medical Director of Aventiv Research. Aventiv merged with Centricity in April of 2022. 

Dr. Roberto Aguirre

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Roberto Aguirre, CPI, CCRP received his medical degree from Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil in 2001, completed his internship at the University of Miami in Florida, and received his CPI certification from ACRP in 2013.

Dr. Aguirre is the Founder and Vice President of AGA Clinical Trials since 2007, an International Research Organization with sites in Miami, FL and Ecuador, South America which conducts Phase I through IV research in Multiple Medical Specialties, Inpatient/Outpatient Services, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Medical Devices. He has dedicated his career to clinical research since 2004.

Dr. Aguirre has collaborated in different functions in over 200 research trials in pediatric and adult populations thanks to a team of prolific investigators, business partners, and research personnel.  He has vast volunteer experience with hospitals in Ecuador as a student and physician.

Seneca Harrison

Co-Chief Diversity Officer

Seneca Harrison is the Vice President of Operations and CEO of Quality Clinical Research, an expanding research facility catering to residents of the Midwest for nearly 20 years. Mr. Harrison has served as CEO since 2008 and has since made it his mission to diversify clinical trials and extend research to underrepresented demographics. His entrepreneurial spirit and drive has led him to branch out into local communities, opening and owning four other businesses in the Omaha area.

Mr. Harrison currently sits on the board for The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Nebraska, a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 14,000 influential business owners with 198 chapters in 61 countries. In 2019 Mr. Harrison was named by Omaha Magazine as one of the faces of Omaha for his leadership, entrepreneurialism and outreach in the Omaha community. His company, Quality Clinical Research, has been named in Gallup’s fastest growing small businesses in Nebraska. He remains a prominent figure in the city of Omaha and continues to give back through his many business ventures.

Mr. Harrison has spent the last 13 years leading the way toward a broader and more inclusive view of clinical research, and now, currently serves as the Chief Diversity Officer for hyperCore international. His experience and expertise in over 300 clinical trials is pivotal in ensuring that clinical research continues to move in the right direction and properly represent the populations to which these medicines will be available.

Mark Lacy

Alliance Partner

Mark Lacy is Founder, former CEO and former Chairman of hyperCORE International. He is founder and CEO of Benchmark Research – a growing and dynamic firm with a network of quality investigative research sites throughout the United States. Mr. Lacy’s active participation with the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) has encompassed serving as Chair of the Site Manager’s Forum, Chair of the Finance Committee, being elected to the Board of Trustees; and in 2005 being honored as a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award. Mr. Lacy also serves on the Board of Advisors for The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), and as a member of the Executive Committee for the PharmaTimes U.S. Clinical Researcher of the Year competition. 

  In 2010, Mr. Lacy was selected by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top four “Established Entrepreneurs” for his success in growing Benchmark Research, and was recognized in 2011 by PharmaVoice as one of the 100 most Inspiring People.  Recently he was named one of the top fifty most influential leaders in the vaccine industry. He is also emerging as a leader in real estate development in Texas with office buildings in Austin and ocean front resort properties on the Texas coast. 

Prior to founding Benchmark Research, Mr. Lacy earned a B.A. degree from The University of Texas at Austin (Plan II Program, Summa Cum Laude); and held several prominent positions in state and national politics, including service under a Presidential Administration.   

Nicholas Focil

Chief Quality Management Officer

Nicholas Focil is the founder and CEO of FOMAT Medical Research- an Integrated Research Organization with over 10 years of experience conducting clinical research in a wide variety of therapeutic areas. As CEO of a medical research company, Nicholas aims to diversify clinical trials, bring innovative healthcare to underrepresented populations, and ensure that high-quality data is contributed to the scientific community to create better treatments. Due to his efforts in empowering patients and diversifying clinical trials, UC Riverside featured Nicholas in their Spring 2022 inaugural list recognizing 40 remarkable alumni under the age of 40. Additionally, in recognition of FOMAT’s overall innovative advancements in COVID-19 research, the company was named 2020s Innovative Business of the Year by Oxnard, California’s Chamber of Commerce.

Nicholas is currently chairman and co-founder of Febo, an app chosen by the Northern California MIT Healthcare Association as a top 100 healthcare startup (and is part of the Plug and Play ecosystem). Nicholas also became an Execute Board Member of hyperCORE International, the second-largest research organization in the world. This membership is in addition to previous ones where he was once part of the Innovation Steering Committee of ACRP and Forbes Los Angeles Business Council back in 2018. Moreover, as early as 2008, Nicholas has done numerous publications and speaking engagements within the scientific and business fields.

Before becoming CEO of FOMAT, Nicholas received his Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry in 2009 from the University of California, Riverside. During this time in UCR, he was in the Chemistry Honors Program and worked under a nominated Nobel laureate doing investigator-initiated trials. He also collaborated with Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLU) and was awarded the 2008 Crystal Achievement Award. After college, the Medtronic MiniMed Diabetes division recruited him to conduct pre-pivotal trials. He then moved on to receive his MBA in Management and Organizational Behavior from Cal Lutheran University in 2012. He was then Managing Director of Diverse Research Solutions and was tasked with expanding clinical research operations throughout the US.

Seth Medlin

Chief Recruitment Officer

Seth Medlin, CEO & Cofounder of Lucas Research, grew up in a small town just outside Charlotte.  His family owned and operated several businesses so it was inevitable he would become an entrepreneur. Seth obtained his bachelor’s degree in accounting from ECU, and then studied computer science at UNC-Greensboro. Seth worked as a computer software engineer in Little Rock, Arkansas and Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Carteret County, South Carolina in 2000. 

Seth & his wife Dr. Jeannie Lucas founded Diabetes & Endocrinology Consultants, now Lucas Research in 2004. If Seth is in town, you will most likely find him at the office.  Lucas Research has allowed his family to be a positive force to more lives than they could have ever imagined. They do travel 5 or 6 weeks a year and have lost count of visits to Hawai’i. Morehead City is home now; home is where the o’hana is. If dreams come true there will be a second home on the west side of Kohala Mountain on the island of Hawai’i one day. Everyone needs a dream.

Lucas Research is the success it is because he was not afraid to think outside the box and create a medical practice that does things a little differently. If you ever wonder what makes Lucas Research so special, it is the culture and vision that Seth worked on creating from day one.

Nathan Morton

Chief Vaccine Officer

Nathan Morton, Chief Commercial Officer of Alcanza Clinical Research, is a seasoned research professional with over 17 years of site experience, including the execution of over 600 industry clinical trials. He is a member of several industry groups including the IQVIA Diversity Site Alliance, the Moderna Site Advisory Group Experience, and the Medable DCT Site Network Council.