LaQuinta Jernigan, chief operating officer for mdgroup, has been recognised as one of 100 most inspiring people in life sciences by industry journal, PharmaVoice. Honorees like Jernigan are selected from a pool of nominations and include Legacy Leaders, Tech Wizards, Innovators, Disrupters, Entrepreneurs, and DE&I Champions.

Jernigan was selected for her work to make the clinical trials space more representative, pushing to go beyond mere lip service in championing diversity to ensure access to clinical trials is not just understood and reserved for certain demographics.

Commenting on the accolade, Jernigan said: “It is an honour to be nominated by my peers and to appear in this prestigious list alongside so many inspiring people. As a black mother-of-two and now COO of a globally disrupting company like mdgroup, I am proud of my success. I hope my inclusion as a life sciences leader serves as an inspiration for young people of colour, especially women, who can see that it is acceptable to use your voice unapologetically and fight for issues you are passionate about without fear of professional backlash.”

LaQuinta Jernigan is a diversity, equity, and inclusion influencer for the pharma industry. She works with the North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBIO) diversity committee and is a member of the MedTech Color (MTC) which aims to build a community of leaders of colour in the medical device industry. Her MTC subcommittee is currently tackling the issue of why cardiovascular health is not being addressed in a meaningful way within communities of colour. She is also inspiring change with the mdtalk video and podcast series, which aims to build authenticity and trust in the sector by shining a light on areas where the pharma industry can do more to support patients through clinical research. 

mdgroup CEO, Tarquin Scadding-Hunt, who nominated Jernigan for the award, said: “LaQuinta’s work continues to break down barriers and make life better for patients involved in clinical trials, which ultimately serves to improve the quality and outcomes of clinical trials. LaQuinta has grown up with a sister with a rare disease and I know that she wanted to do something in the field of medicine that would help others and is now passionately driven to foster a new side to pharma where teams and organisations operate to the highest ethical and professional standards to better serve their patient groups. LaQuinta has supported mdgroup in truly changing the lives of patients and their caregivers – as reflected in the nearly 0% patient dropout rate we witness through our patient support services – and she is totally committed to being the voice for diversity, equality and inclusion in clinical research.”