Built by people who believe research should give back.
Community First Clinical Research was founded on a simple conviction:
clinical trials should strengthen the communities they draw from, not extract from them.
“We are not building the next national roll-up.
We are building one site that the Triangle will always be able to count on.”
COMMUNITY FIRST CLINICAL RESEARCH FOUNDING TEAM
Why we built this
Private equity has swept through independent research sites, acquiring and consolidating them at a pace that prioritizes growth over the thing that actually drives enrollment: trust. The founders who built real community relationships are no longer making decisions. Financial professionals are.
We saw an opportunity to do something different in the Triangle. One site, built with depth of local relationships and quality of infrastructure that sponsors increasingly struggle to find.
Six principles behind every decision we make.
01
Trust is the only durable enrollment advantage
Ads and call centers generate screens. They cannot generate the kind of trust that reduces no-shows, improves retention, and makes a site worth returning to study after study.
02
Research should give back to communities
The communities that provide patient access deserve to benefit from research directly. Our Community Impact Fund is the structural mechanism for that commitment.
03
Quality requires accountability, not scale
The best data comes from sites where the people responsible for a study also care most about its outcome. We are building one site that the right people will always care about deeply.
04
Partner practices deserve a model built for them
Too many research models extract from the practices they partner with. We built ours to do the opposite. Partners contribute access. We carry every operational burden.
05
Diverse enrollment is a clinical imperative
Trial data that does not reflect the diversity of the populations it is meant to treat is fundamentally limited. Our community partnerships are central to our recruitment model for this reason.
06
Transparency builds relationships that last
With sponsors, partners, patients, and the community, we commit to saying what we mean, reporting what happened, and being honest about constraints before they become problems.
The people behind the commitments.
Our founders bring together deep clinical research operations experience and physician leadership built across the Triangle and beyond. The people who talk to sponsors and partners are the same people responsible for delivery.
Andrew Stocker
Co-Founder
Andrew brings over a decade of clinical research operations experience across some of the most recognized research organizations in the Triangle and Southeast. His career spans the full operational arc of a clinical trial site, from study startup and coordinator management to site-level strategy, sponsor relationships, and multi-site operations leadership.
Prior to co-founding Community First Clinical Research, Andrew served as Director of Operations at Eximia Research in Raleigh and as Site Director at DM Clinical Research. Earlier roles at M3 Wake Research and Southeastern Clinical Research Institute gave him direct exposure to both high-volume network operations and the practical realities of running sites that serve sponsor expectations at scale.
Eddie McCray, DO, MHA
Co-Founder and Head of Medical Affairs
Dr. Eddie McCray is a physician and healthcare operator whose career sits at the intersection of clinical research and community health. A North Carolina native, he earned his medical degree at Campbell University, where he was named the 2022 Student Doctor of the Year for scholarly excellence, community commitment, and leadership that extended well beyond the classroom.
Dr. McCray conducted advanced neurosurgery research at Duke University under Dr. Rory Goodwin, a nationally recognized neurosurgeon and NIH-funded principal investigator, focusing on outcomes disparities in spinal oncology among underrepresented populations. His work across research and training produced 16 peer-reviewed publications, 6 abstracts, and 14 presentations before he completed medical school. He also holds a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Duke University MBA, giving him the clinical and operational range to build and lead research infrastructure at scale. As Head of Medical Affairs at CFCR, he provides physician oversight and ensures the scientific integrity of every study the site conducts.
Michael Soboeiro, MD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Michael Soboeiro is a board-certified internist with more than 35 years of experience caring for adult patients across the Triangle. He earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and one of the most rigorous training programs in the country.
Throughout his career, Dr. Soboeiro has practiced at WakeMed Cary Hospital, WakeMed Raleigh Campus, UNC Rex Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, building long-standing relationships with patients across Wake County. His clinical focus includes diabetes management, hypertension, chronic disease care, and the comprehensive treatment of adults managing multiple conditions, areas that directly align with CFCR’s therapeutic priorities. As Principal Investigator, Dr. Soboeiro brings the clinical depth, community trust, and decades of direct patient relationships that responsible research requires.
Andrew Stocker
Co-Founder
Andrew brings over a decade of clinical research operations experience across some of the most recognized research organizations in the Triangle and Southeast. His career spans the full operational arc of a clinical trial site, from study startup and coordinator management to site-level strategy, sponsor relationships, and multi-site operations leadership.
Prior to co-founding Community First Clinical Research, Andrew served as Director of Operations at Eximia Research in Raleigh and as Site Director at DM Clinical Research. Earlier roles at M3 Wake Research and Southeastern Clinical Research Institute gave him direct exposure to both high-volume network operations and the practical realities of running sites that serve sponsor expectations at scale.
Eddie McCray, DO, MHA
Co-Founder and Head of Medical Affairs
Dr. Eddie McCray is a physician and healthcare operator whose career sits at the intersection of clinical research and community health. A North Carolina native, he earned his medical degree at Campbell University, where he was named the 2022 Student Doctor of the Year for scholarly excellence, community commitment, and leadership that extended well beyond the classroom.
Dr. McCray conducted advanced neurosurgery research at Duke University under Dr. Rory Goodwin, a nationally recognized neurosurgeon and NIH-funded principal investigator, focusing on outcomes disparities in spinal oncology among underrepresented populations. His work across research and training produced 16 peer-reviewed publications, 6 abstracts, and 14 presentations before he completed medical school. He also holds a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Duke University MBA, giving him the clinical and operational range to build and lead research infrastructure at scale. As Head of Medical Affairs at CFCR, he provides physician oversight and ensures the scientific integrity of every study the site conducts.
Michael Soboeiro, MD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Michael Soboeiro is a board-certified internist with more than 35 years of experience caring for adult patients across the Triangle. He earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and one of the most rigorous training programs in the country.
Throughout his career, Dr. Soboeiro has practiced at WakeMed Cary Hospital, WakeMed Raleigh Campus, UNC Rex Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, building long-standing relationships with patients across Wake County. His clinical focus includes diabetes management, hypertension, chronic disease care, and the comprehensive treatment of adults managing multiple conditions, areas that directly align with CFCR’s therapeutic priorities. As Principal Investigator, Dr. Soboeiro brings the clinical depth, community trust, and decades of direct patient relationships that responsible research requires.
Why community-rooted sites matter more than ever.
Aggregation and waning involvement
PE networks have acquired and consolidated sites at pace, disincentivizing the original PIs who built them. The people most knowledgeable about their patient populations are no longer running day-to-day operations.
Growth at all costs
High turnover, lost continuity
Sponsors face different teams and different standards every time they return.
Financial engineering over clinical quality
High debt burdens mean financial professionals, disconnected from site operations, make decisions that affect study quality.
The incentive is capital efficiency, not scientific rigor.
Raleigh, North Carolina
One community. Deep roots.
Real local ownership
No PE, no VC, no national roll-up.
Standalone facility
5,000 sq ft dedicated to clinical trials.
Depth over scale
One site, done exceptionally well.
There’s a place for you here.
Choose the path that fits.
Find a study near you.
Register your interest and we will reach out when a trial is a good fit.
Explore a partnership.
A 15-minute call is all it takes. No commitment required.
Request a feasibility review.
Send us your study details. We respond within 72 hours.