Tesheia Johnson, MBA, MHS is currently the Chief Operating Officer for YCCI and the Associate Director for Clinical Research for the School of Medicine. Prior to assuming this position, she was the Assistant Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. In this role, Ms. Johnson provided leadership and direction in the area of clinical trial research, which includes strategic planning and research development. She previously held positions as Director of Clinical Trials at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Administrator for Clinical Research for the Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine and Assistant Director for Marketing for BIOS, a small biotechnology firm. Ms. Johnson holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Health Sciences. Ms. Johnson's career has been focused on the development of clinical research programs and support infrastructure. She has also served as a consultant for several academic centers interested in establishing clinical research programs and has served as a grant reviewer for an NIH study session. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in design and setup of clinical research programs and for her ability to establish strong partnerships with industry. She has been the invited speaker for many national conferences on topics such as: developing and funding for central support for clinical research, staffing models for clinical and translational research, training programs for research professional, clinical research regulation, contracting and budget negotiation