In this episode of The Clinical Research Coach, host Leanne Woehlke sits down with Alen Hadzic, Founder and CEO of CT Scan, to explore how data, digital advertising, and AI are reshaping the way patients are enrolled into clinical trials.

Coming from a background in consulting, marketing strategy, and lead generation, Alen brings a fresh lens to one of the industry’s most persistent challenges—patient recruitment and enrollment. Rather than relying on traditional recruitment models, his company has developed a methodology called Predictive Enrollment Engineering, designed to calculate and optimize cost-per-enrollment using real-world advertising data.

Alen shares how CT Scan’s patent-pending AI platform, Dyno AI, analyzes millions of dollars in digital advertising performance across dozens of clinical research projects to model enrollment funnels—from ad engagement and qualification to phone contact, eligibility, and final enrollment.

During the conversation, Leanne and Alen discuss:

• Why traditional patient recruitment models often fail to deliver results

• The hidden friction points that cause patients to drop out of the enrollment funnel

• How digital advertising can be used to measure and optimize patient interest

• The importance of rapid follow-up and human engagement in improving response rates

• How CT Scan achieves a 65% phone answer rate through immediate outreach and optimized workflows

• Why focusing on cost per enrollment—not cost per lead—changes the entire recruitment strategy

Alen also shares his unconventional journey into the clinical trials industry—from early exposure to research through his physician father to a career in consulting and entrepreneurship that ultimately led him to rethink how clinical trials approach patient enrollment.

If clinical trial recruitment has ever felt unpredictable, inefficient, or frustrating, this episode offers a data-driven perspective on how AI, marketing science, and operational discipline could transform enrollment into a measurable and predictable process.

Tune in to learn how predictive modeling and digital marketing principles may help bring new optimism to clinical trial enrollment.

Alen Hadzic is a healthcare technology entrepreneur focused on bringing predictability and operational rigor to clinical trial enrollment. He is the Founder and CEO of CT SCAN™, a company developing systems to remove uncertainty from patient recruitment by engineering enrollment as a measurable process rather than a marketing outcome. His work centers on Predictive Enrollment Engineering™, a methodology that models each stage of the patient journey, from initial awareness through screening and enrollment, using probability-based performance metrics. The company’s patent-pending enrollment technology, DYNO Ai™, analyzes operational and advertising data to forecast cost-per-enrollment and reduce study timelines.

Hadzic holds a graduate degree from Columbia University and completed a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Vlerick Business School, a top-ranked European program in the field. His background combines business strategy, systems thinking, and applied analytics in clinical research operations.

Outside of his professional work, he is an active musician who records and performs his own material, playing guitar, drums, and vocals. He approaches both technology and music with a similar philosophy: structured systems can create reliable outcomes, but creativity determines how far those outcomes can be pushed.

In this episode of the Clinical Research Coach, I sit down with Ella Balasa, a cystic fibrosis patient advocate whose lived experience is shaping how our industry understands trust, transparency, and meaningful patient engagement.

Diagnosed in infancy with cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic lung disease, Ella has spent her life navigating hospital systems, breakthrough therapies, and clinical trials — not as an abstract participant, but as someone whose health and future depend on research progress. Along the way, she has become a powerful voice for improving how industry partners with patients.

In this conversation, Ella shares what sponsors, sites, and biotech leaders often overlook:

* Patient experience is never one-size-fits-all — even within the same diagnosis.

* Patients learn about trials through trusted networks, not just databases or digital ads.

* Transparency builds confidence and drives long-term participation in research.

* Dropout affects more than timelines — it influences trust and future enrollment decisions.

* Technology should support patients, but never replace human connection.

Ella’s perspective challenges us to think beyond enrollment metrics and toward something deeper: relational trust. Because sustainable progress in clinical research depends on listening to patients as individuals, partners, and experts in their own lives.

To learn more about Ella:

Https:/ellabalasa.com

In this episode of Clinical Research Coach, host Leanne Woehlke sits down with Dr. Rohan Lall for a candid, thought-provoking conversation on what it truly takes to modernize clinical research—without losing sight of patients, providers, or purpose.

Dr. Lall brings a rare dual perspective as a practicing physician and clinical research leader, offering firsthand insight into the structural, cultural, and operational challenges that slow progress across trials today.

Together, Leanne and Dr. Lall explore how clinical research must evolve to better reflect real-world care, rebuild trust with patients, and support sites and investigators who are stretched thin.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why many clinical trials still feel disconnected from everyday clinical care—and how to close that gap

• The growing tension between protocol complexity and patient participation

• What physicians actually need to stay engaged in research long-term

• How trust, communication, and operational empathy impact enrollment and retention

• Where technology helps—and where human connection remains irreplaceable

• Dr. Lall’s vision for a more sustainable, clinician-friendly, patient-ready research ecosystem

This conversation is a must-listen for sponsors, CROs, sites, and innovators who believe the future of clinical research depends not just on better technology, but on better alignment between medicine, operations, and the lived experience of patients.

Rohan Lall, MD M Health FarviewUniversity of Minnesota Medical Center

Spine Surgery / Neurosurgery/

Chief Medical Officer SynerFuse BIO:Dr Rohan R. Lall is a neurosurgeon in Edina, Minnesota and is affiliated withmultiple hospitals in the area, including M Health FairviewUniversity of Minnesota Medical Center and M Health FairviewSouthdale Hospital. He received his medical degree from University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine. He has expertise in treating spinalfusion, spinal stenosis and spondylosis, among other conditions

Dr Lall is a former investigator of the SynerFuse Proof of Concept trial and pioneered the e-TLIF procedure He performed the world’s firstsolo SynerFuse e-TLIF procedure as well as the first 2-level procedure. SynerFuse®e-TLIF™ procedure, a ULE™ Therapy (Ultra Low Energy), is used to addresschronic low back and leg pain for spinal fusion patients.

Dr Lall specializes in robotic and minimally invasive surgery, complex spinal surgery, brain for brain and spinal tumors and skullbase surgery/ pituitary tumor surgery. He has been a leader in robotic spinal surgery and actively involved in the development of new technologies in spine surgery. The Innovative procedure integrates conventional spinal surgery techniques with targeted nerve stimulation to address chronic back pain at its source. These nerve stimulators fundamentallyalter the nerve’s ability to transmit pain signals to the brain. The innovative implant allows patients to control nerve stimulation via smartphone, with early trial participants reporting significant pain reduction and improved quality of life without opioid dependence.