James H. Powell Topics

Dr. James H. Powell received his B.S.in Chemistry from Virginia Union University, and his M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College. He interned at Medical College of Virginia and trained in clinical pharmacology at Weill-Cornell where he was Assistant Professor of Pharmacology prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry. He retired from the industry in 2006 after 24 years as a clinical research executive directing global clinical trials. These included initial human exposures research for many new chemical entities, Phase 1 through 4 clinical trials and Rx to OTC switches, and establishment of molecular pharmacology and biomarker capability in support of clinical drug trials. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators and recipient of its Lifetime Honorary Membership Award. Beginning in 2000, Dr. Powell served as Principal Investigator for the National Medical Association’s Project IMPACT (Increase Minority Participation and Awareness of Clinical Trials) – directing a national effort to educate African American and other physicians and consumers on clinical research participation. In this project, he designed and led programs to educate more than a thousand diverse physicians in skills, ethics, cultural competence, business aspects, and regulatory understanding required for becoming investigators for clinical trials in diverse communities. He was also a member of Baylor College of Medicines EDICT Project (Elimination of Disparities in Clinical Trials) and was appointed to the Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services Advisory Committee for Human Research Protection (SACHRP). He serves on the Board of “Closing the Health Gap” of Greater Cincinnati, a local health advocacy organization, is a member of Harvard and Brigham’s Multi Regional Clinical Trials Diversity Roundtable and was a founding member and contributor to the Alliance of Multicultural Physicians℠ (A collaboration between the National Hispanic Medical Association, the Association of American Indian Physicians, the National Council of Asian and Pacific Islander Physicians.). Dr. Powell is co-Founder of knowRX, Inc., developers of a cloud based digital health platform to support sustainable patient empowerment for self-care and medication adherence, and to enable physician and patient influence, engagement and inclusion for speed and efficiency in clinical trials. He has authored many publications on molecular pharmacology, basic and clinical research, and has conducted numerous lectures and scientific presentations including several on clinical trials in people of color.