Rebuilding Trust in Clinical Research: How LaToya Hinton-Howery Is Bringing Equity Back to Medicine
When LaToya Marie Hinton-Howery founded Next Innovative Clinical Research (Next ICR) in 2015, she wasn’t just starting a research site—she was building a bridge.
A bridge between medical innovation and the communities long left out of it.
As CEO and Research Director of Next ICR and co-founder of the NOIR Research Collective, LaToya is on a mission to make clinical trials inclusive, accessible, and representative of the people they’re meant to serve. In her conversation with Industry Ignited host Dr. Leanne Aguilar, she shares how her personal journey through academia and industry opened her eyes to systemic gaps—and how she’s working to close them one study, one physician, and one neighborhood at a time.
The Wake-Up Call: “I Didn’t See People Who Looked Like Me”
While working at the University of Chicago, LaToya began noticing something unsettling.
“We were in the middle of a minority population, but few—if any—minority patients were participating in clinical trials,” she recalled.
Even more surprising? There were almost no minority investigators leading those studies.
That realization sparked her mission to bring diversity into research not just through participants, but through the doctors and coordinators conducting the work.
“If the issue is right in my own backyard,” she thought, “it’s happening everywhere.”
COVID and the Great Research Awakening
When the pandemic hit, public awareness of clinical trials skyrocketed—but so did confusion.
“People thought the COVID vaccine was made overnight,” LaToya said. “They didn’t understand the research process.”
Suddenly, friends and family were calling her with questions: Is the vaccine safe? How do trials even work?
That became her cue to educate—not only her loved ones, but entire communities—on how trials are designed, regulated, and monitored for safety.
“That’s when I realized—education has to start at home,” she said.
Redefining Inclusion
For LaToya, inclusion isn’t just about race or gender—it’s about access.
Women, for example, weren’t widely included in U.S. clinical trials until 1993. “That’s half the population,” she said. “And we were approving drugs without even knowing how they worked in women.”
Next ICR is changing that by ensuring every study reflects the diversity of real patients—across ethnicity, geography, age, and lifestyle.
“We want to make sure that if a drug is prescribed nationwide, it’s tested nationwide—on everyone it’s meant to help.”
Training from Within the Community
A key part of Next ICR’s success lies in its community-based workforce model.
LaToya trains local residents to become research coordinators, teaching them everything from good clinical practice to patient consent. The results have been transformative.
“When staff come from the neighborhoods we serve, trust builds instantly,” she said.
Her coordinators don’t just manage studies—they become educators, advocates, and bridges for understanding.
Community familiarity also leads to stronger recruitment and retention, as patients feel seen, heard, and safe.
Reframing the “Guinea Pig” Myth
For older adults who remember the Tuskegee era, mistrust runs deep.
When asked how she addresses the “guinea pig” concern, LaToya doesn’t deflect—she reframes.
“I tell them, you’re already a guinea pig,” she said. “Your doctor prescribes medication every day, and you don’t know who it was tested on.”
In clinical trials, she explains, participants receive more care and oversight than in typical clinical visits—plus compensation and personalized follow-ups.
“We hold your hand through the whole process,” she said. “You’re not alone.”
Representation Improves Science
Lack of representation doesn’t just perpetuate inequity—it skews data.
“If everyone in a trial lives in one climate or has one lifestyle, that data won’t apply to the real world,” LaToya said.
She’s seen it firsthand. Drugs like lisinopril, commonly prescribed for blood pressure, later showed adverse effects in Black patients—because early trials didn’t include enough diversity.
“Bad news travels fast,” she said. “One community member has a bad experience, and suddenly the whole neighborhood stops trusting medicine.”
Her solution: design studies that reflect real populations and ensure every demographic sees themselves represented in the data.
Scaling Trust, Not Just Trials
What began as one research site in Chicago has grown into a multi-site network spanning Houston, Los Angeles, and soon St. Thomas.
Each site operates with local coordinators, physicians, and community partners—all guided by LaToya’s training and mentorship.
“I don’t want to own every site,” she explained. “I want to teach others how to run their own. That’s how we scale.”
She’s also co-leading the NOIR Research Collective alongside Dr. Lovey Negron and Danielle Mitchell, founder of Black Women in Clinical Research. Together, they’re helping smaller, minority-owned sites strengthen their infrastructure, build standard operating procedures, and secure more studies.
“When I started, I had to figure it out alone,” LaToya said. “Now I want to make sure no one else has to.”
Vision for 2035: A Fair, Accessible Research Ecosystem
Looking ahead, LaToya envisions two new research facilities in Chicago’s South and West sides. Each will include:
Physician suites for local doctors who want autonomy
Full imaging capabilities to keep patients close to home
Phase I clinical trial units designed like dorm-style stays for overnight participants
More importantly, she’s building a training pipeline to prepare residents—degree or not—for careers in research.
“If a sponsor needs trained staff, I want them to call me,” she said. “We’ll have a pipeline ready.”
The Power of Partnership
LaToya’s next challenge is rallying sponsors and CROs to give smaller community sites a chance.
“Sponsors still chase what’s big and shiny,” she said. “But the real data—the real patients—are in the communities being overlooked.”
Her message to pharmaceutical partners is simple: work with us, not around us.
And to those entering the field, her advice rings clear:
“You don’t need a PhD to make a difference in research. You just need passion, training, and a heart for people.”
Listen to the full episode.
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