·       Meet the Staff!

Hillcrest Location

  Katie Kinninger, A.S., RCP, CCRC

  Study Coordinator/Chief Pulmonary Technologist

Katie has an AS degree in Cardiopulmonary Technology, with an emphasis in pulmonary function testing from Grossmont College.  She has worked for UCSD for 24 years in a wide variety of clinical research studies and projects in the fields of critical care medicine, pulmonary and cardiology.  Katie is a licensed respiratory care practitioner (RCP) and also certified as a clinical research coordinator (CCRC).  She was raised in San Diego, is married with two teenaged sons, and has a large dog. Katie likes to surf, rollerblade and camp.

      Tonya Tucker, A.A.

 Study Coordinator

 Tonya received her AA degree in nursing (LVN). She is certified in phlebotomy and hemodialysis. Her research career began when she accepted a position as a medical assistant with the Department of Psychiatry at an off-site clinical location.  Tonya then accepted a position at UCSD where she eventually was promoted to an assistant coordinator in the area of pulmonary diseases specializing in COPD and asthma. She is currently the lead coordinator for several asthma studies with the Asthma Clinical Research Center (ACRC) and a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) study.  She enjoys spending time with her two daughters.

Melissa Thrasher  Study Coordinator Melissa joined the CTC in 2006.  She is a military veteran with five years as serving as a medic.  Melissa served during Operation Enduring Freedom.  She has over three years experience in clinical trials as a medical assistant and currently as a study coordinator of several Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN) asthma studies.  Melissa enjoys creating scrapbooks, and photography.

Sam Ung  Study Coordinator Sam joined the CTC La Jolla in 2005.  She attended Medical Assistance training at Meric College before coming to UCSD..  

Paul Ferguson, M.S., RCP Executive Director, CTC

Paul started with Dr. Ramsdell as a cardiopulmonary student and became his first employee 29 years ago. He spent 12 years as the Occupational Safety Officer for the UCSD School of Medicine, Office of the Vice Chancellors of Health Sciences. He returned as the Executive Director of the CTC in May, 2006.  Paul’s vision for the CTC is simple:  “To facilitate the performance of industry and the National Institutes of Health sponsored clinical trials at the University of California, San Diego along with bringing new therapies to our patients.”

La Jolla Location

Ericka Garcia   Study Coordinator