Our Team
At Curiex, we believe that deep site relationships, operational excellence, and scientific integrity are the foundations of transformative clinical research.
Our leadership team is more than seasoned executives — they are long-time collaborators who share a unified mission: to run smarter, patient-centric trials. Many have partnered with founder Eric Hayashi for years, collectively shaping the evolution of the SMO / integrated site network model around the world.
Eric Hayashi, MBA
President & CEO
Renton, WA Office
Dave VanderYacht, CPA, CMA
Controller
Renton, WA Office
Todd Albin
Director, Participant Recruitment
Chicago, IL Office
Brent Eller, JD
Primary Outside Counsel
Shann Emerald, CCRC
Director, Business Development
David Hammond MS, RAC, CCRP
Director, Quality & Regulatory Affairs
Jay Koh, PharmD, MBA
Director, Corporate Development
Kirsten Noble
Director, Budget & Contracts
Amy Waldow
Director, Human Resources
Laura Laun
Director of Project Management
Kristy “Indi” Rooney
Director, Marketing
Medical Directors
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Endocrinology
Dr. Frances "Fran" Broyles is a board-certified endocrinologist with more than 30 years of clinical leadership and patient care experience in Seattle. She earned her medical degree from the University of Florida and completed her internal medicine residency in Dallas, where she served as Chief Medical Resident. She then completed a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Washington. For more than three decades, she maintained a thriving clinical practice at Swedish Medical Center and has been repeatedly recognized as one of Seattle’s Top Doctors in Endocrinology. Throughout her career, Dr. Broyles has held numerous system-wide leadership roles, including Medical Director of the Neuroendocrinology and Pituitary Program at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute and Medical Director of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition for the Swedish Health System. She also served as Clinical Lead for the inpatient glycemic management program, the outpatient Diabetes Pathway, and the Healthy Weight Initiative for Swedish and Providence, and she played an integral role in developing the Osteoporosis Program at Minor & James and Swedish. Her clinical and research interests span diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, women’s hormonal health, pituitary conditions, and adrenal disorders. She is passionate about education and continues to serve as a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and presented at clinical and educational conferences throughout her career. Outside of medicine, Dr. Broyles enjoys reading fiction, hiking, yoga, and spending time with her husband, two daughters, and three grandchildren, often getting delightfully lost in play.
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Cardiology
Dr. Stephen “Steve” Halpern is a board-certified cardiologist in Santa Rosa, California. Dr. Halpern received his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine and did his cardiology fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after which he served on the full-time staff as Assistant Professor of Medicine before relocating to Santa Rosa to start a private practice in 1981. He is board certified in internal medicine and in the subspecialty of cardiovascular disease, is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and was Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and Family Practice at University of California San Francisco before relinquishing his teaching obligations. He has authored several peer-reviewed publications including in the American Journal of Cardiology. Dr. Halpern has served as principal investigator for more than 250 studies since 1992 in the areas of cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, neurology, pulmonology, urology and women’s health and was formerly a medical director for Synexus (formerly Radiant Research).
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Sleep Medicine
Dr. Teresa E. Jacobs is board certified in sleep medicine with a background in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, and critical care medicine. She has years of experience in all aspects of sleep medicine and has special interest in the intersection of sleep and metabolic medicine. She serves as the Medical Director of the Seattle Sleep Institute.
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Rheumatology
Dr. Alan Kivitz, MD, MACR is board certified in internal medicine with a subspecialty in rheumatology. He is President and Founder of the Altoona Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center in Duncansville, PA and President, Founder, and Medical Director of the Altoona Center for Clinical Research in Duncansville, PA. Dr. Kivitz earned his medical degree at the Albany Medical College in Albany, NY and an Internal Medicine internship at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. He completed his residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and at North Shore University Hospital and a fellowship in Rheumatology at the Albany Medical College. Dr. Kivitz has served as principal investigator on more than 1,350 clinical trials and serves as a consultant for Aventis, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, AbbVie and Grunenthal, authored more than 1,200 abstracts and publications, speaks globally and is a Master of the American College of Rheumatology.
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OB/GYN
Dr. Samuel “Sam” Lederman received his medical degree from the University of Miami Medical School and completed his residency training at the University of Colorado. He is board certified by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is a clinical instructor at the University of Miami School of Medicine, serves as a consultant for pharmaceutical companies developing new products in many specialties of medicine, and has lectured nationally and internationally. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of HCA/JFK Medical Center, the largest hospital in Palm Beach County. Since 1999, Dr. Lederman has served as Principal Investigator on more than 400 clinical trials in the areas of women’s health, obesity, osteoporosis, hormone replacement, urinary incontinence, infectious disease, and many more. Altus Research, the site he founded, was successful in multiple pivotal projects involving thousands of patients. The work ultimately led to significant improvements and changes to national guidelines in the frequency and timing of cervical cytology testing. His site was also involved in the development and deployment of several COVID vaccines and is currently working on multiple studies for obesity and metabolic disease.
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Psychiatry
Dr. Bernardo Ng is a Mexicali native is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry and in Psychosomatic Medicine, as well as by the Mexican Board of Psychiatry. He is also a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr Ng started his private practice in Imperial County in 1994. He became a Medical Doctor at the University of Nuevo Leon in 1987. After completing his year of social service in the city of Monterrey in 1988, he entered specialized training in Psychiatry in El Paso Texas in 1989 and continued in San Diego California in 1992. Dr. Ng is currently the principal investigator for Sun Valley Research Center, Inc. He completed a year of subspecialty training in Psychosomatic Medicine right before moving to Imperial County, California. He has served as chairman and member of the Physician Wellbeing and Bioethic committees at both local hospitals ECRMC and PMH. He is a consultant at various organizations and clinics. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the Imperial County Medical Society, the San Diego Psychiatric Society and the American Medical Association.
