Clinical Research

Mircea O. Badara, MD

Director of Research

Dr. Badara did his medical training in Bucharest, Romania. He trained in Internal Medicine at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital and went on to complete a fellowship in Pulmonary/ Critical Care Medicine there. He also completed a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine at Bridgeport Hospital, and a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Albert Einstein University. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine.

He has been with Starling since 2015 in our Pulmonary division. In 2021, he took on the role of Director of Clinical Research. He is excited to spearhead the effort to bring clinical studies to Starling and allow patients and providers the opportunity to partake in leading edge research opportunities that can provide medical breakthroughs in healthcare. 

In his role, he carefully selects studies that can benefit Starling’s patient population. He then works with Starling providers to select patients who can benefit from participation in these studies. He and his team oversee participation to ensure protocols are followed and to track results.

Kristine Calabrese

Clinical Research Coordinator

Kristine is our dedicated clinical research coordinator. She joined Starling Physicians in September of 2021. She has been in the medical field for over ten years and has research experience. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Western Connecticut State University. She holds a certification in IATA and CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative.)

Kristine works under the direction of Dr. Badara and is responsible for daily clinical trial activities. She can be reached at (860) 224-6266 x6616 or via email at kcalabrese@starlingphysicians.com.

Isabel Garcia

Clinical Research Coordinator

Isabel is our newest clinical research coordinator.  She joined Starling Physicians in January 2023.  She has been in the medical field for nine years and has research experience.  She holds a certification in IATA and CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative.) 

Isabel works under the direction of Dr. Badara and is responsible for daily clinical trial activities.  She can be reached at (860) 224-6266 x6619 or via email at igarcia@starlingphysicians.com.

A clinical trial is a type of research study that tests how well new medical techniques work in people. Individual research trials are designed to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat a disease. Clinical trials vary greatly in size, from a single researcher in one hospital or clinic to an international multicenter study with several hundred participating researchers on several continents.

Every clinical trial has an action plan, or protocol, for conducting the trial. The plan describes how the study will be conducted. Each study has rules about who can and cannot participate. These rules are called “eligibility” criteria and they describe characteristics that must be shared by all participants. 

There are several types of clinical trials, including trials to assess effectiveness of medications, different treatment protocols, and screening methods to identify diseases or cancers.  

One of the most common types of clinical trials is to assess the effectiveness of new drugs to treat disease. Before a drug is approved for use, it goes through various stages of development and testing. A drug is initially discovered in the laboratory. It is then tested on laboratory animals and specific cell lines. Once it appears that a particular drug may be effective, it enters the clinical phases of development.

Phase I: the first step is determining if a newly discovered drug is safe for patient use. It is during this phase that it is determined how the drug would be best administered, whether there are any harmful side effects, and the safest dose to use.

Phase II: doctors test to find the effectiveness of the new drug on specific conditions to see whether the new drug would improve on the presently available treatments, which is the ultimate goal.

Phase III: with the effectiveness and safety of the new drug having been determined, doctors will then compare the new treatment to the standard treatment. This is accomplished through a randomized study. A study includes two separate groups:

• The Intervention Group – Those who are given the new treatment
• The Control Group – This group will receive either the standard treatment or a placebo (a treatment that contains no active ingredients)

Phase IV: the post-marketing phase of a trial. After the drug is approved by the FDA and is available on the market, it can be further studied for better ways of administering it. 

Starling is currently proud to participate in Phase III and IV trials.

Another important type of trial is a screening trial. Screening trials evaluate new tests for detecting cancer and other health conditions in people before symptoms are present. The goal is to determine whether or not the screening test saves lives, and at what cost.

The methods of detecting disease, often called screening tests, can include: 

• Imaging tests that produce pictures of areas inside the body. 
• Laboratory tests that check blood, urine, and other body fluids and tissues. 
• Genetic tests that look for inherited genetic markers linked to disease. A genetic marker is a specific gene or other identifiable portion of DNA that can be used to identify an individual disease or trait.

Patients who participate in screening studies may play a vital role in guiding the detection of cancers.

To learn more about a trial and determine if you are eligible to participate, please contact:

Kristine Calabrese
Clinical Research Coordinator
(860) 224-6266, x6616

kcalabrese@starlingphysicians.com