Videos
Date: May 28, 2025
During Clinical Trials Week, the MRCT Center premiered a weeklong “What’s Your Why?” video series, featuring eleven patients, caregivers, and health professionals who share the personal motivations that drive their commitment to research. From cancer survivors whose trial experiences became today’s standards of care to caregivers finding hope in each study visit, these firsthand stories exemplify why amplifying the voices and lived experiences of participants is vital: it ensures that trial design is ethical, practical, and truly centered on those it aims to serve.
Now it’s your turn: record a brief video telling us What’s Your Why? and send it to mrct@bwh.harvard.edu or tag us on LinkedIn with #WhatsYourWhy—because every voice counts in shaping safer, more effective treatments.
🎥 A Powerful Why
For Amanda Monteiro, it’s personal. After losing her 20-month-old daughter to leukemia, she champions clinical trials to help uncover new treatments and better outcomes for patients everywhere.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Caring Why
Normand Neault cares for his wife, Marilyn, after her Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis. “Clinical trials give us hope,” he says, highlighting the encouragement they find in being involved—working alongside experts, seeing her neurologist more often, and lifting each other up. For this caregiving duo, trial participation is a positive step forward, together.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Quality-of-Life Why
Living with chronic pain, Linda Hunter strives for the best possible care—and she trusts clinical trials to deliver it. She wants researchers actively working on diagnosis, treatment, and management that help her live fully, and she insists on having a voice in studies that matter to her.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Hope-Driving Why
Marta Botanch—a pediatric cancer survivor turned hematology nurse—experienced firsthand the impact of clinical research. Her trial treatment not only worked for her but has since been approved and is helping countless children. She champions research because it drives innovation, improves patient care, and ensures safe, effective therapies tailored to young patients—offering hope, dignity, and a future where every child has access to the best care.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Bridge-Building Why
After her cancer diagnosis, Roberta Albany recognized a disconnect between the medical community and marginalized populations, especially African American communities. “Clinical trials save lives—not just yours, but lives that come after,” she says, and calls on us to be part of the solution—unlocking breakthroughs that enhance quality of life for all.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Surthriver’s Why
Robert Weker, a 3-time cancer “surthriver,” credits his survival to the bravery of earlier trial participants: “I was able to stand on their shoulders—those treatments became today’s standard of care.” Guided by his belief that all patients deserve informed decisions, he champions clinical trials to fuel tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Survivor’s Why
After battling stage IV melanoma, T.J. Sharpe credits clinical trials with saving his life—and giving hope to thousands walking in his shoes. His message: without research, patients lose access to their best possible options.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 An Advocate’s Why
Marilynne Quarcoo, a long-time participant and patient advocate, shares how letting go of anxiety around research revealed a powerful truth: each of us can contribute to better health care for countless others.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A Determined Why
Diagnosed in her 20s with an unknown subtype of Muscular Dystrophy, Keisha Greaves lives every day without a cure and with only physical therapy as a standard option. “How do we know what will work unless we try it?” she asks—driven by the belief that volunteering for clinical research can unlock treatments not just for her, but for everyone in the disability community.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 An Empowerment Why
Living with Parkinson’s, Marilyn Neault finds that clinical trials give her a crucial sense of control—helping her benchmark her health and learn more about her condition. “Clinical research is vitally important to me,” she says, driving progress for herself and others.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
🎥 A High School Student’s Why
Having to undergo medical procedures designed for adults catalyzed Anvita Ambardekar’s passion for clinical research and pursuit of a biomedical career. Young people like Anvita are the future of innovation and scientific advancements, and her clear-eyed plea for clinical research that focuses on improving healthcare for children and teenagers is a reminder to all of us who champion representation in clinical trials.
What’s Your Why?
#ClinicalTrialsWeek #WhatsYourWhy #ClinicalResearchMatters #MRCTCenterVoices
