Dr. Ray Starling is currently a Senior Director of Clinical Development and Operations at Athersys Inc., a small biopharmaceutical company in Cleveland, OH.  He is responsible for leading the design, execution, and interpretation of Phase 1-3 clinical trials by working with a multidisciplinary internal and external team including clinical trial service providers.

Ray has a physiology background earning a PhD from Ball State University and completing a post-doctoral fellowship within the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has spent nearly 20 years completing human clinical trials in both the academic and pharmaceutical setting.  Ray was formerly part of the clinical development organization at Pfizer Inc. from 2001-2008 and prior to this was a research faculty member at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His human research experience has spanned the areas of osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, transplant support, regenerative medicine, aging, exercise physiology, and nutrition.