My name is Diane Echavarria and I obtained a Bachelors in Neuroscience, Bachelors in Spanish Language and Literature, and a Masters in Biotechnology from The Johns Hopkins University. I have worked as a Research Coordinator at the The Johns Hopkins Hospital for 5 years, working directly with both physician/researchers and patients and specializing in patient education, data collection and troubleshooting implementation of protocols. While there, I ran a tumor and family history registry, managed support staff, created methods to improve my projects' protocols, consulted to improve data collection protocols on several projects in other departments, designed and implemented clinical checklists, provided interdepartmental mediation regarding protocols and was the main contact for tens of thousands of patients and families enrolled in my studies.
My ultimate professional goal is to be a leader in the field, helping to improve quality and efficiency in patient care while improving the patient experience. I believe there is much room for improvement within the healthcare system in terms of patient engagement in their own healthcare management, the efficiency of current patient data management systems and protocols, and the efficiency and effectiveness of current standards of healthcare management in general, among other things.
Outside of my professional interests, I unwind by watching football, especially the Baltimore Ravens, practicing yoga, exploring places and their histories, learning and practicing interior decorating techniques and experimenting with recipes for international cuisines.
I'm new to editing Wikipedia and am excited to add content to pages. So far I've helped overhaul the "amplicon" wiki page and have added some connections to PALB2 and other pancreas-related pages. I welcome comments, concerns or suggestions to improve the quality of my work on Wiki. 162.129.251.72 (talk) 20:58, 28 May 2013 (UTC)