Jeanne Anne Breen, the Research Services Manager and Director of Clinical Trials at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, has dedicated her career to advancing the field of weight management and overall health. With a background in clinical counseling and a strong passion for structured research, she has been instrumental in overseeing pivotal studies, particularly in investigational weight loss medications. Jeanne Anne's work not only focuses on the scientific aspects of research but also emphasizes the importance of participant care and support.
We recently had the opportunity to talk with Jeanne Anne about her career path, the rewarding aspects of her work, and the future of clinical trials in weight management.
Wellness Connections: What inspired you to pursue a career in clinical trials and research services, particularly in the field of weight management and overall health?
Jeanne Anne Breen: I originally wanted to be a therapist and got a degree in clinical counseling but then fell into a job as a study coordinator at a depression research clinic...I found that this role provided me the opportunity to work with people but also provided a structured environment following study protocols which turned out to be a good fit for my personality (I like structure, organization, and details). When I moved to Colorado and started working for the University in 2006, a position at the Center for Human Nutrition (now the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center) provided me the ability to continue a career in research. As a kid, my mom frequently dieted and worked as a dietary counselor, so nutrition and health were a regular topic in my household and so this position seemed like a great fit for me.
Wellness Connections: What aspect of your research do you find most rewarding or fulfilling, and why?
Jeanne Anne Breen: Hands down it is the people I get to work with. I have the opportunity to meet with study participants with the goal of providing support, care, and answers to their questions while collecting the study data. Developing relationships and rapport with participants is not only satisfying on my end but also helps them to feel more at ease (especially when some assessments could make some folks uncomfortable (having physical measures done, having blood drawn, being asked to complete questionnaires) and it helps us to collect the important information for the study.
Wellness Connections: Could you elaborate on some of the key clinical trials you are currently overseeing that aim to help overweight individuals manage and reduce their weight?
Jeanne Anne Breen: A key finding that I think is very relevant for adults struggling with weight, is that when someone attempts to lose weight, there are physiological mechanisms at play that try to counteract the weight loss attempts (you don’t feel as full after eating the same meal, you feel hungrier throughout the day, you burn fewer calories at rest than at your starting body weight). The body prefers to be at a higher weight and internally fights a person’s weight loss efforts. High levels of physical activity can help to counteract these physiological mechanisms and promote weight loss maintenance. This is why I have focused most of my research on strategies to help people adopt and maintain high levels of physical activity. Another key finding is that when people find physical activities that they enjoy, they are much more likely to keep up with physical activity long-term. A third key finding is that when you remove the “all-or-nothing” mindset (or the idea that if I can’t do 30 minutes of exercise, then why bother doing any exercise at all), then increasing your level of physical activity becomes much easier.
Wellness Connections: How do you think your research findings can be translated into practical, real-world interventions or programs to help individuals with overweight or obesity?
Jeanne Anne Breen: Over the years we have been involved primarily in conducting trials on investigational weight loss medications. These trials are implemented to learn about the safety and efficacy of new medications so they are vital in helping to bring new medication options to the market. As most people have read in the news, there are new-generation medications on the market that are more effective than previous options...so it is an exciting time to be a part of this field.
Wellness Connections: What do you want to achieve with your research?
Jeanne Anne Breen: Ultimately our goal is to be an advocate for our participants in terms of providing them support and watching over their health during a research study and to ensure that their experiences during the study are well documented. By providing complete and accurate information about our participants’ experiences during a study, the study sponsor has the necessary data to help determine if a new medication is safe and effective.
Wellness Connections: How do you envision the future of clinical trials in weight management and weight loss evolving over the next decade, particularly in terms of personalized medicine and tailored interventions?
Jeanne Anne Breen: At the moment, there is no way to predict what type of treatment will work for each individual. All of the available treatment options (lifestyle counseling, bariatric surgery, and anti-obesity medications) work for some people and don’t work for others. More and more of our clinical trials include genetic testing with the goal of being able to allow for future studies to see if there is some genetic marker that may help us to know what type of treatment will work for a specific person. The hope is that sometime soon a blood test could help inform what treatment is most likely to be effective for a specific person.
Wellness Connections: What advice would you give to new researchers interested in pursuing a career in this field?
Jeanne Anne Breen: A career as a clinical coordinator offers both a mix of interacting with other people (meeting with study participants and working as part of a study team) and office work (documenting information collected during a study and entering and managing data). Folks interested in a job that offers a variety of activities may enjoy a career as a clinical research coordinator. For some careers, you might get the advice of “don’t sweat the details.” But in a research career, my advice is DO sweat the details! Collecting and documenting accurate information and following all details of a study protocol leads to reliable and accurate data.