The SCTO Executive Office is located in Bern.
Executive Office
Managing Director
Victoria Sarraf
Managing Director
Victoria Sarraf brings together the SCTO’s various projects and perspectives. Together with the SCTO’s governing bodies and her team, she defines and coordinates measures for implementing the association’s strategic goals and fulfilling the SCTO’s service agreement with the federal government. To ensure that project planning and implementation go smoothly, she is regularly in direct contact with the SCTO’s various partner organisations.
As a pharmacist with a master’s degree in management, she holds both a scientific and a business degree. Victoria has many years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields within both the public and private sectors. She has also acquired extensive knowledge of the entire pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) process.
Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Director
Cordula Landgraf
Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Director
Cordula Landgraf is responsible for communications and stakeholder engagement and is the SCTO’s Deputy Managing Director. She seeks ways to enhance strategic collaboration with stakeholders, placing a special emphasis on patient and public involvement in clinical research. Cordula is a licensed pharmacist with a thorough understanding of regulatory intelligence and public affairs. She has many years of experience with stakeholder engagement and has built up an extensive network. In line with the motto “Knowledge has a beginning but no end”, she teaches further education courses at various international universities. Cordula also represents the SCTO on EUPATI CH’s Executive Board and within other professional organisations and working groups.
Business Operations Manager
Irene Desvoignes
Business Operations Manager
Finances | Human resources
Irene Desvoignes works closely with management as she oversees the SCTO’s finances and human resources. In addition, she ensures that the SCTO’s internal processes run smoothly and the appropriate structures are in place. Irene studied business administration and now applies the experience she gained in various positions within different industries to her work at the SCTO.
Scientific Coordinator
Melanie Glättli
Scientific Coordinator
Further education and training | SCTO Platforms
Melanie Glättli coordinates the SCTO’s Education Platform as well as its activities aimed at promoting the academic career development of medical students who are interested in focusing on research and of young researchers in Switzerland. She also supports the Project Management Platform. Melanie holds a doctorate in life sciences and has considerable experience supporting clinical research and young researchers. She has also worked in the area of research funding and at a cantonal ethic committee.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Project Manager
Tamara Kohler
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Project Manager
Tamara Kohler supports the SCTO team in the area of stakeholder engagement. As our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Project Manager, her focus lies on implementing and promoting PPI in academic clinical research. Tamara is a business graduate and has a wide range of experience in the life sciences and the not-for-profit environment, including in the areas of relationship management and multistakeholder engagement.
Scientific Coordinator
Caecilia Schmid
Scientific Coordinator
ECRIN | EUPATI | SCTO Platforms | STEAM
As the European correspondent for Switzerland of the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN), Caecilia Schmid facilitates cross-border partnerships within European research landscapes. In addition, she runs the secretariat of the European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation’s (EUPATI) National Platform in Switzerland, which strives to make patients’ voices heard during the development and conduct of clinical trials. She is also responsible for the SCTO’s Data Management and Statistics & Methodology Platforms as well as the Swiss clinical Trials Empirical Assessment & Methods (STEAM) working group. Caecilia has a doctorate in epidemiology and considerable experience in both international clinical research and research collaboration.
Event Manager
Debora Suter
Event Manager
Event management | Digital communication
Debora Suter supports the SCTO’s communications team and makes sure that SCTO events run smoothly. After training to be a specialist in photography, she went on to obtain a diploma in commerce and business administration. She then worked for several years in the public sector as an executive assistant, which involved organising events and maintaining a variety of websites.