Spectrum Science Appoints Industry Veteran Marie Emms as President of Clinical Business
Key Insights
Spectrum Science (search) has appointed Marie Emms, a 30-year healthcare communications veteran, as President of its clinical trial recruitment and retention business.
Emms previously led patient recruitment and engagement functions at Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb (search), bringing deep sponsor-side strategic expertise.
She will oversee the development of strategic patient engagement programs and drive innovation through Spectrum's AI-enabled MERIS™ platform.
Spectrum Science (search), an independent full-service strategic platform offering integrated clinical, commercial, and communications services, announced on July 8, 2026 the appointment of Marie Emms as President of its clinical trial recruitment and retention business, Spectrum Science Clinical. Emms will lead business development and commercial strategy while overseeing the creation of strategic patient engagement programs designed to accelerate trial enrollment and improve retention.
Emms brings more than 30 years of healthcare communications experience to the role, including 26 years focused exclusively on clinical trials. Her career has spanned support for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across a wide range of therapeutic areas and every stage of the trial journey, from awareness and informed consent to compliance and adherence.
"Marie's background and experience blend a deep understanding of the clinical trial ecosystem with a true appreciation for the role communications plays in driving behavior change, and a history of proven leadership," said Amy Hutnik, President & Chief Commercial Officer at Spectrum Science (search). "She knows first-hand the pressure biopharma companies are facing to activate enrollment, and has the vision and experience to maximize Spectrum's strategic backbone and integrated capabilities to enable an even broader array of clients to not only meet, but accelerate clinical development timelines."
Leadership Across the Clinical Trial Ecosystem
Prior to joining Spectrum, Emms led Patient Recruitment and Engagement functions at Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb (search), gaining a deep understanding of sponsor-side strategic and operational priorities. Before her in-house roles, she spent more than six years at Syneos Health, where she led the patient engagement CRO team within the Site & Patient Access group. Emms also held senior leadership roles at Ogilvy Healthworld and Real Chemistry earlier in her career.
"I'm excited to join Spectrum, an industry innovator with a proven history of trial acceleration, at a moment when the need for speed, integration, and true site and patient-centricity has never been greater," said Marie Emms. "Spectrum's full-funnel capabilities and proprietary, AI-enabled technology ecosystem reflect the necessary expertise to drive meaningful momentum in the clinical space."
Technology-Driven Innovation
Emms recently completed her AI in Pharma and Biotech certification at MIT Sloan, further strengthening Spectrum Science (search) Clinical's commitment to innovation across technology-enabled engagement and data-driven strategy. Spectrum plans to incorporate Emms' experience and knowledge into the MERIS™ platform, a suite of globally compliant clinical trial enrollment and retention products, to create an AI-driven platform aimed at decreasing burden on sites.
In her role, Emms will be responsible for leading teams to design integrated engagement programs that reflect the exact needs of each protocol and patient population, while driving innovation through evolving client solutions. Known for her collaborative approach, she champions cross-functional partnerships essential to delivering effective strategies in an increasingly complex clinical trial environment.
Leadership Transition
Neil Weisman, former President of Spectrum Science (search) Clinical, will remain on the leadership team as Chief Development Officer. In this role, Weisman will shift his focus to cultivating enterprise-level partnerships that enable study sponsors to maximize strategic synergies across therapeutic areas and pipelines.
Emms also highlighted the value of Spectrum's integrated platform: "Equally impressive is the integrated platform of adjacent services within Spectrum's connected, agile model that allow the company to successfully support clients as they bridge from clinical excellence to commercial success."