More about our team…Let’s chat to

Sarah Bernier and get to know our team better! As our EUPATI Secretariat team grows, we want to make sure you know our team, what we do and who is your touchpoint for your area of interest. Our secretariat team is spread all over Europe therefore we work virtually and meet in-person at least once per year. In this series we sit down virtually with our team to find out more about their role and responsibilities.

This chat is with Sarah Bernier who first joined EUPATI in March 2024 as a temporary Network and Communications Coordinator. As of January 2025 she took on a permanent role as a project coordinator of the IHI – READI project.

Where are you dialing in from today Sarah? 

Working remotely from my hometown of sunny Montpellier. I’m  French born and raised!

What is your main work stream?

My main workstream since January 2025 has been the IHI-project called READI (Research in Europe and Diversity Inclusion), as the main project coordinator representing EUPATI within the large Consortium of partners, and providing our contributions and expertise where needed.

This project coordinator role is quite new for me, as I was previously the temporary Network and Communications Coordinator for EUPATI the year before. I saw this transition as a really positive and enriching challenge—one that would give me more responsibility, ownership, and knowledge in a more focused area. In this case, I’m learning a lot about clinical study design and operations in Europe, as well as how different populations perceive the research, development, and participation or retention processes.

What is your favourite part of your role?

One of my favourite aspects of the role is getting to work with incredibly inspiring individuals from all over the world and from diverse stakeholder groups. Everyone brings unique perspectives and expertise to the table, which makes the collaboration really dynamic and rewarding. I also love that I’ve been involved since the project’s kickoff, and I’m hoping to stay on and see it grow and evolve over the next six years. That timeline gives us a lot of space to learn, adapt, and co-create innovative solutions to meet our goals.

Describe your typical working day?

A typical day for me involves checking on the project’s overall progress and making sure we’re on track with our deliverables. There’s a lot of coordination with various teams, as EUPATI plays multiple roles: we’re a work package lead, a task lead, and also an active partner in other work packages. That means we often wear different hats throughout the day. When we’re in the lead, it involves more responsibility—like defining realistic next steps, ensuring they’re aligned with our objectives, and figuring out how to engage other partners effectively. Communication is at the heart of everything, so I spend a lot of time connecting with stakeholders, making sure we are all updated and aligned.

Thank you Sarah for sitting down to chat with us about your role. More on the IHI-READI project is here. Any questions about this project feel free to get in touch with Sarah at [email protected].