Marjorie Lazarre (R) with her daughter, Ava (L)

A life-changing event at age 14 determined Marjorie Lazarre’s career.

“My sister was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) after being rushed to the hospital,” she recalled. “I decided to go into pharmacy as a way to better understand medication and educate myself to support her, as well as other patients.”

Marjorie received her doctoral degree in pharmacy from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and completed a pharmacy practice residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. She currently serves as the Director of Pharmaceutical Procurement and Business Practices at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Another Life-Changing Event

Several years ago, Marjorie and her husband received devastating news: their 7-year-old daughter, Ava, had T1D. “Again, my life changed,” she said. She started looking for ways to help improve her daughter’s life beyond the medical field. “I wanted to dedicate my effort not only to understanding medication but supporting the advocacy and philanthropy efforts of JDRF.”

Marjorie joined the JDRF Community Board, and her family became a top fundraising team for their local One Walk. They also helped with support groups and community outreach events. Still, they wanted to do more.

Clinical Trials: A Path to Cures

Marjorie saw firsthand the “tremendous shift from cumbersome needles and finger sticks” to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps. She knows none of these advancements would have been possible without clinical trials. So, her family started taking part in a variety of type 1 diabetes clinical trials, ranging from simple surveys to psychosocial analysis to blood tests.

She then became a JDRF Clinical Trial Education Volunteer, helping families find clinical trials that are a good fit and increasing participation to fuel research for T1D. “Clinical trials are the only way to get to a cure,” she said. “The more folks that participate, the more data we have to improve and optimize treatment options.”

Marjorie is hopeful that her next life-changing event will be a cure for T1D. “I see continued improvement to the quality of life through devices and medicines,” she said. “To find a cure for type one diabetes would change so many lives.”

Learn more about clinical trials at https://www.jdrf.org/impact/research/clinical-trials/.