Konstantina Riga, Excelya’s eTMF manager, is based in the office in Greece. She has been a part of the Excelya team since 2020, when her previous company ZEINCRO, for whom she worked since 2012, was acquired by Excelya.
Today she will share with us what life at Excelya looks like for her, and how eTMF became her professional focus in 2021.
Since joining the eTMF department in March 2021, I have already been able to realize some of my ambitions. I had wanted to see eTMF become a core part of Excelya’s business plan, and for it to touch and influence every department within the company.
We have definitely seen this come into play!
eTMF will become an integral part of the CRO of tomorrow. As such, Excelya have made huge investments into their eTMF department, as part of our future-proofing mission.
If anything, the time of eTMF is already here, so it is essential that Excelya are staying ahead of the curve. To do this, we regularly undertake training, seek to innovate as much as possible, and have partnered with market-leading eTMF provider, Veeva Systems.
By partnering with Veeva Systems as our primary eTMF provider (which was announced officially in September 2021), we can offer a second-to-none service to our clients. Market-leading software and best-in-class professional know-how is a really powerful combination.
Primarily office-based in Greece, I have been working with Excelya’s fantastic team of Clinical Operations professionals based in Greece for many years – even before we were a part of the Excelya family. As such, we are a very close-knit group and work seamlessly together, with a strong collaborative sprit.
I work with and report to Petek Berker Birik, who is based in Istanbul, Turkey, and is equally passionate about seeing the Excelya eTMF department reach its full potential.
I worked in the Clinical Operations and Study Start-up departments before joining the eTMF team and worked in Clinical Operations for 15 years before joining Excelya. This kind of experience has been essential to hit the ground running in the world of eTMF.
I may have built up some extensive industry experience, but the beauty of working in the eTMF department (a department which is still in its infancy and yet to meet its full potential within Excelya), is that every day is a learning experience. I recently became certified by taking certain exams and am now in the process of passing on these same skills and training to the rest of the team.
The eTMF team is rapidly expanding, with Excelya eTMF Clinical Trial Assistants now based in Greece and in Belgium and further expansion envisaged over the coming months. Ultimately, we hope that every Excelya affiliate office will have its own specialist eTMF team, with local knowledge and expertise, centrally managed by our eTMF hub in Greece.
I thoroughly enjoy the fast-paced and international aspect of Excelya, and being a part of our department in particular. I have very much enjoyed seeing the team evolve, as well as diversifying my own skills, growing a new department and service in the process.
When my laptop closes at the end of the working day, I enjoy volunteering at my local dogs’ shelter, and travelling is usually a very important part of my personal time. Also, as I was a pro volleyball player for 23 years, I love to be active and do lots of sports in my spare time. These days I love doing CrossFit and other types of general exercise; it’s my primary method to relieve stress.
For more information about eTMF, contact us to request a brochure or a meeting with one of our experts.
