The Partnerships Team: Danya Burakoff, Conference Director

As the 20th Partnerships in Clinical Trials approaches next April, we wanted to you get to know the staff behind the event. Every two weeks, a Partnerships Team Member will share some of their memories and experiences with the event. Today, we have Danya Burakoff, the Conference Director of this year's event.

1) What do you do for Partnerships in Clinical Trials? How long have you been working on the Partnerships Event?
I am the new program director for Partnerships in Clinical Trial and I am very excited to join the team for our 20th anniversary celebration!

2) What has been your favorite part of taking over Partnerships in Clinical Trials?
I have enjoyed delving into the content development for the 2011 program in order to bring forth more advanced sessions as well as many new topics for the meeting. I am working closely with speakers to develop innovative interactive formats for our conference sessions. I am also excited for some of the "surprises" we are developing for our 20th Anniversary celebration, and for building a more active and engaged Partnerships community.

3) Which speaker are you looking forward to hearing from this year?
There are many speakers I am looking forward to hearing from, especially those who will address some our new topics for 2011- such as: The Emerging Markets Jeopardy, a Fast Money Showdown, the Stakeholders Debate on Operational And Longer Term Strategies for Profitability and Growth in Global Clinical Trials, and our keynote sessions on Executing the Challenge of Innovation- Vijay Govindarajan and Change Management- Dan Heath. I am also excited about our Industry Future C-suite Fireside Chat.


4) What's your favorite food? I love Greek food and anything spicy...For my sweet tooth, I like dark chocolate.

5) What are you looking forward to the most for our 20th Anniversary? Meeting all the speakers, attendees, and sponsors that I have been corresponding with throughout the year in person and welcoming new speakers and attendees to the Partnership family.