Venessa Spearman is senior director of the Children's Foundation Research Institute. She assists researchers by identifying funding sources and coordinating proposals to government agencies, foundations and other grant-making organizations. She also facilitates the contracting process for sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical research protocols.

Dr. Terri Finkel is the Children's Foundation of Memphis Endowed Chair of Excellence and the Division of Rheumatology Chief and Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. She is a Professor and the Associate Chair of the UTHSC Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Finkel earned a medical degree and a PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Stanford University in California. She completed her Internship in Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston, Residency in pediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and Fellowship in Rheumatology at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Colorado. Her research interests include Genomic Research, ultrarare genetic diseases, education disparities, and CAR T-cell Therapy for Autoimmune Disease. The Children’s Foundation of Memphis, NIH, Urban Child Institute, and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have funded her recent research. Dr. Finkel has served on national and international scientific committees, founded and chaired the Le Bonheur/St. Jude/UTHSC COVID-19 Research Study Group, is the UTHSC Vice Chancellor for Research Search Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Urban Child Institute, University Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists, and Biorepository and Integrative Genomics (BIG).

Dr. Dennis Black serves as the director of the Children’s Foundation Research Institute and vice-president for Research for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. He is a professor of Pediatrics and Physiology and holds the J. D. Buckman Endowed Professorship in Pediatrics at UTHSC. From the Mid-South, Dr. Black received his medical degree from UTHSC. He completed his pediatric residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Le Bonheur. His research interests include pediatric liver disease, disorders of lipid metabolism and molecular mechanisms of fat absorption in the neonate. The NIH, FDA and several foundations have funded his research. He has served on the executive councils of the Society for Pediatric Research and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and on the NASPGHAN Research Committee as chair.

Kerry Moore serves as director of clinical research for the CFRI. She coordinates efforts with the UTHSC IRB, Le Bonheur, and University staff and is responsible for the training and management of the clinical research coordinator and regulatory teams. She is a certified Clinical Research Coordinator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), and her prior experience includes nursing, clinic nursing manager, clinical trial coordination and management. Kerry holds a master's degree in healthcare leadership.

Billie Wood is director of finance and research lab operations of the CFRI. She oversees all financial activities for research, including CFRl's operational budget, financial reporting and implementing and improving financial processes. She also oversees research laboratory activities and operations to maintain and improve safety and collaboration of principal investigators. Billie has several years of laboratory management, basic research, clinical research and clinical laboratory experience. She has a master's of Biotechnology and master's of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.

Thomas Hobson has been with Le Bonheur Children's Hospital for nearly 15 years, having most recently served as the director of Child Life Services. While working with process improvement, budgeting and other such tasks, Hobson fell in love with the business side of healthcare and is now working with the CFRI as the business manager. His background training is as a music therapist, holding master's degrees in both music therapy and healthcare administration.

Dalia is the Manager of Research Regulatory and Compliance and is responsible for the regulatory team. She provides regulatory and administrative oversight for all research studies by overseeing research policies and procedures, study preparation, review, submissions, and maintenance. She assists with training and providing support to our research community partners. Dalia earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Memphis and is a Certified Clinical Research Professional through the Society of Clinical Research Associates. She is also proficient in Spanish. Her previous experience includes clinical trial coordination, project management, and research finance administration.