Leadership
Members of our management group share a passion for clinical research and a commitment to provide both a positive experience for patients and unfailingly accurate, productive results for sponsors and investigators. Leading teams of world-class clinicians, technical experts, academicians and researchers, each of our senior executives is dedicated to improving the lives and health of others in keeping with Rovia’s mission.
Patricio Casillas
Chief Executive Officer
Patricio brings over 20 years of leadership experience in Healthcare across various sectors including pharma, med device, value-based primary care, pharmacy and DME. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Duke University and an M.B.A from Stanford University. He’s an alum of Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson.
Patricio is passionate about expanding the access of breakthrough therapies to patients in order to increase quality of life, reduce disease burden and reduce the overall cost of healthcare. He enjoys tennis, golf, reading and spending time with his wife and two kids.
Jeff Repper
Chief Operating Officer
Jeff joins us with an impressive track record of 20+ years of leadership and success in clinical research and operational management. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts in Technical and Scientific Communication from Miami University and has completed leadership training through Sandler & Blue Harbor.
Rebecca Goldfaden
Chief Scientific Officer & Head of Partnerships
Rebecca has over 15 years of clinical research experience and has successfully built and scaled research sites across multiple therapeutic areas. She also leads Rovia’s investigator-led research program. Rebecca previously served as a Clinical Assistant Professor for several Colleges of Pharmacy across the U.S. She earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Florida and completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, focusing on cardiology and endocrinology.
She later completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Research and the Pharmaceutical Industry, where her passion for clinical research grew. Rebecca is dedicated to educating her community about clinical research and expanding access to new opportunities.
Dylan Self
Vice President of Patient Recruitment
Dylan Self is Vice President of Patient Recruitment at Rovia Clinical Research, where he leads centralized patient recruitment across the site network. He brings more than 20 years of experience in research operations and previously led recruitment operations for a top clinical research site network.
Dylan is focused on building high-performing teams, strengthening site support, and creating patient-centered recruitment strategies that help connect the right patients to the right studies.
Matt Smith
Vice President of Business Development
Matt leads strategic growth initiatives across our multi-specialty clinical research site network. With nearly two decades of experience in leadership and clinical research, Matt focuses on connecting sponsors and CROs with Rovia's high-performing investigators to accelerate study startup and enrollment.
Throughout his career, Matt has built and led high-performing business development teams, driving expansion across diverse therapeutic areas and strengthening partnerships with emerging biotech and global pharmaceutical organizations. His experience spans site network development, patient recruitment strategy, and operational optimization—ensuring sites are positioned as preferred partners in an increasingly competitive trial landscape.
Prior to joining Rovia, Matt held leadership roles supporting research site growth, sponsor engagement, and patient-centric trial execution. He is known for aligning commercial strategy with site capabilities to improve trial access, performance, and long-term sponsor relationships.
Diana Johnson
Vice President of Human Resources
Diana brings over a decade of experience leading HR strategy and talent programs within specialty healthcare organizations. At Rovia, she partners with executive leadership to scale operations and strengthen culture, with a focus on developing leaders, enhancing engagement, and building high-performing clinical teams.
Diana holds a master’s degree in Psychology and
Occupational Health, maintains certifications in HR Management and Healthcare Compliance, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Health Sciences. She also serves as a Board Member to the Jett Foundation, supporting research and patient advocacy for the rare disease community.
Jordan Wright
Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategy
Jordan Wright is Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategy at Rovia Clinical Research, where he leads finance and partners across the organization to drive data-driven decision making, operational efficiency, and enterprise-wide visibility.
Jordan is focused on building high-performing, cross-functional teams and leveraging automation to help Rovia scale. Jordan holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and previously worked at Boston Consulting Group and Gauge Capital.
