Meet the Team: Vivian Hunter, CCRP
Vivian Hunter, senior clinical research coordinator, has been with the lab since June of 2025.
After completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology at VCU in 2021, Vivian imagined that she would go on to attend medical school. She entered the healthcare field working as a medical scribe in an emergency department near her hometown of Fredericksburg, VA, volunteered in a surgical trauma ICU, and then worked as a medical assistant at Virginia Women’s Center in Richmond. Her professional experiences, however, ended up having a surprising effect on her plans for the future. “Having worked in the healthcare field, working with patients every day, I witnessed the realities of the healthcare system,” she says. “Realizing that it’s not always set up for patients, providers, or professionals to succeed was disheartening.”
Finding herself at a crossroads, Vivian reflected upon her time as a research assistant during her undergraduate education at VCU. Working in the HOPE lab with Dr. Ruth Brown of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Vivian contributed to research on access to mental health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This experience had given Vivian insight into the basics of research coordination, and she decided to learn more. “I stumbled upon a clinical research coordinator position at Massey [Comprehensive Cancer Center]’s clinical trials office, I was hired on as a gynecologic oncology research coordinator, and my role was so rewarding,” she recalls. Working for Massey for almost two and a half years, Vivian assisted with patient recruitment for trials, helped manage treatments for patients, and worked closely with project PIs and treating physicians. “That was what opened my eyes to a career in research,” says Vivian, “for me the most important thing is I want to do something that feels meaningful to me and that is helping people.”
I know that I want to help people in the moment, but I also acknowledge that there are larger systemic issues that cause problems to trickle down, which made me curious about public health. It’s important to me to be a lifelong learner, and I think it’s so important to stay curious and ask questions, and wonder why things are the way that they are, and try to think about potential solutions. Working towards an MPH, I feel like I will be a more well-rounded person, and hopefully it will give me a lens to see things in a different way.
-Vivian Hunter, CCRP
Following this career shift, Vivian decided to pursue further education in the form of an MPH from VCU’s School of Public Health. While working towards her degree, Vivian looked for clinical research coordinator positions, and found the OPT for Health Lab. In her role as senior clinical research coordinator, Vivian oversees all aspects of the three ongoing trials in the lab. “It’s all-encompassing. Everything comes and goes through me, which is amazing – and stressful,” she quips. “My days are spent managing day-to-day tasks related to trials. I help manage the study schedule, recruitment of participants, scheduling participant visits, quality data collection – all while making sure that participant experiences are centered and that we’re maintaining our relationships and continuing to build trust with the communities that we’re working with.”
Despite the busy and demanding schedule, Vivian is thriving as she enters her second year with the lab. “This position has given me the opportunity to really grow and understand what my passions are a little bit better,” she says. “Every day is different. I feel like this job has given me so many opportunities to learn and grow as a CRC and has opened my eyes to a completely different side of research that I was not as involved with or aware of.”
Where does Vivian see herself in the future? “I don’t know!” she laughs. “I see myself helping people – what does that look like? I don’t know. It looks different every day.”
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