Since 2008, Cheryl Kennedy, LMSW, MPH, has played an integral role in nearly every facet of our clinical research operation at the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center (BNAC). Over the past decade and a half, she has built an unparalleled track record as Senior Clinical Trial Manager Advisor and Senior Quality Review Associate. In these roles, and through countless others she seamlessly assumed, Cheryl brought unmatched levels of not just competence, but also consistency, trust, and deep institutional knowledge.

Her work touches every corner of BNAC’s research landscape. She is our primary contact for IRB and regulatory matters, setting the tone for how we approach participant safety and data integrity. Across dozens of trials, Cheryl has championed a standard of ethical rigor that has become central to BNAC’s identity.

Cheryl has also been the central pillar in BNAC’s quality management system, overseeing regulatory compliance, refining clinical trial documentation standards, and mentoring generations of coordinators. Her leadership of the BNAC’s research coordination unit exemplifies her talent for creating structure and collaboration across complex clinical networks. In her capacity as liaison to the Director, she plays a vital integrative role, ensuring continuity between research staff, coordinators, and senior leadership. 

Cheryl has managed or supported numerous BNAC landmark projects, including CTEVD CEG, CASA-MS and SyMRI studies, and many multicenter clinical trials, such as PREMiSe, SENTINEL, GA-DEPOT 001, ENLIGHTEN, PROTEMBO and INT131-RU01-2. Her contributions were not confined to Buffalo—she has traveled for site visits and project coordination in Europe and made multiple trips to The Boston Home as part of the CASA-MS study. These engagements highlight not only her logistical mastery but also her genuine commitment to the patients and communities served by BNAC’s research.

Those who have worked with Cheryl speak of her tireless devotion, encyclopedic regulatory knowledge, and deep wisdom. She has been the institutional conscience of BNAC, guiding the center through regulatory changes, international collaborations, and the operational intricacies of high-stakes clinical trials.

As BNAC continues to grow and evolve, Cheryl Kennedy’s influence remains foundational. Her work has laid the structural and ethical groundwork for future generations of research coordinators and investigators. In a field that so often celebrates innovation, it is equally important to honor stewardship - and few have embodied that as fully and as humbly as Cheryl.