Concentrics has an experienced team of experts that are arranged in multi-disciplinary teams to partner with you on your unique research needs.

Julie Aker, BS, MT (ASCP)
President & Chief Executive Officer
Julie started her career in healthcare over 30 years ago in a large healthcare system in Colorado Springs.  Originally from Indiana, she attended Ball State University and obtained degrees in medical technology, biology and chemistry; her MBA work was done at the University of Colorado.  She worked in the clinical laboratory and grew into senior management in medical affairs with over 800 healthcare providers.  She started a healthcare consulting business within the hospital system that soon grew and became a separate business unit.  Julie was later recruited by Covance, a global CRO, for positions in quality assurance/regulatory affairs and in protocol services as head of the project teams in the U.S. and Switzerland for the Central Laboratory Business.  In 1999, Julie was recruited to work at West Pharmaceutical Services and expanded the clinical, consulting and regulatory capabilities of the company.  In 2002, she led a management buy-out with the partnership and funding from Bindley Capital Partners and started Concentrics Research.  Julie frequently consults with clients on regulatory and program strategy at the Concentrics Strategy Center and attends FDA meetings and Advisory Committees with sponsors.

Sara Travis, BS
Vice President, Operations
Sara oversees our Operations including CRO project management and Site Services. She has a solid background in consumer research. Sara was born and raised in Indianapolis and graduated with Honors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a marketing concentration and economics minor. Sara began her research career focusing on Customer Loyalty Measurement within multiple industries including healthcare, consumer product goods and financial services. She directed global qualitative and quantitative programs and was involved in creating a client-focused technology platform for research collection and real-time reporting. In addition to overseeing Operations, Sara directs and leads key projects and is also a senior consultant to clients on aspects of study design and project execution.

Melissa Beck, BA
Director, Project Operations
Melissa leads our project operations area with a solid background in consumer research. Melissa was born and raised in the Midwest and graduated with Honors from the University of Toledo with a major in Anthropology, and completed 2 years of graduate work with a concentration in Marketing. Melissa began her research career focusing on Customer Loyalty Measurement within multiple industries including healthcare, consumer product goods and financial services. She has managed global qualitative and quantitative programs and has significant experience with technology applications for data collection and reporting. The project staff in regulated healthcare market research and clinical operations, including the data management team, report to Melissa. She also frequently consults with clients on aspects of study design and project execution.

Dr. Bill Miller, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Miller has worked with Concentrics for nearly twenty years in roles of an Investigator and Medical Director. Dr. Miller obtained his M.D. at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller has worked on hundreds of studies and frequently consults with the project teams on the medical aspects of the studies by giving input on study design. Dr. Miller also acts as the Medical Director for Emergency Medicine at the Indiana Heart Hospital. When he’s not cheering on the Hoosiers or playing golf, Dr. Miller works as a Staff Physician in the ER department at Community Hospitals of Indianapolis.