Senior Management

Dana A. Leff, Chief Executive Officer

Dana A. Leff is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AbCRO, Inc. Ms. Leff founded AbCRO in 2000 after working in Bulgaria for two years and studying the local language and culture. She manages the business activities of AbCRO including financial management, human resources, customer relations, marketing and business development.
Ms. Leff is based in Sofia, Bulgaria which is AbCRO’s Headquarters office. Prior to starting AbCRO, Dana served as the Marketing and Sales Director for US Meds, a Bulgarian-based firm. While at US Meds she identified the untapped opportunity to conduct clinical research in Southeastern Europe and returned to the U.S. in 1999 to develop and launch the company. From 1993-1995, Dana worked at the US Department of Commerce Department as the Confidential Assistant to the Chief Economist and from 1992-1993 she was a Researcher for the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House.

She has an MBA from The Darden School, University of Virginia and a B.S. from Cornell University. Dana has been a faculty member of the City University M.B.A. program in Sofia, Bulgaria where she has taught Advanced Marketing Strategic, Market Research and Organizational Management courses.

Christa Pleasants, Chief Operating Officer

Christa Pleasants is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of AbCRO, Inc. Ms Pleasants brings more than fourteen years of clinical research experience, with over seven of those years working in Eastern Europe. Ms Pleasants manages AbCRO's clinical operations in the region including; regulatory activities, monitoring, and auditing. With a Degree in Nursing, Christa started her clinical research career at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas in their Cooperative Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), a cooperative group responsible for monitoring and auditing NCI-sponsored studies. In 1996, Ms Pleasants joined Ilex Oncology where she worked in project management of US and Western European clinical trials. Prior to co-founding AbCRO, she served as Director of Clinical Development at Argonex, Inc., a biotechnology company developing immunotherapeutics in oncology and infectious disease.

Malgorzata Szerszeniewska, MD, President

Dr Malgorzata Szerszeniewska joined AbCRO in June 2007 to support the growth and further expansion of AbCRO throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining AbCRO, she spent over 10 years at Covance working in the CEE region to set up and develop its operations in the region. Her last position in that organization was Director of Strategic Development and Director of Clinical Operations for Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Szerszeniewska's clinical trials therapeutic experience includes oncology, immunology, CNS, gynecology, urology, cardiovascular, psychiatry, ophthalmology, infectious disease and gastrointestinal medicine.

Prior to starting in the CRO industry, Dr. Szerszeniewska worked as an Anesthesiology and Intensive Care specialist at Warsaw University Hospital. She received her Medical Diploma and Specialization certification from the Warsaw Medical University.

Barbara G. Rainville, Vice President, Business Development

Barbara G. Rainville, is responsible for overall marketing and sales activities as well as strategic alliances for AbCRO. Ms Rainville has over 20 years of industry experience specializing in sponsor-CRO relationships. Previous positions in business development include major CROs as well as niche providers. With extensive experience in account management, she is a strong advocate for excellence in customer service. Ms. Rainville received her MBA degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an MA degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland, and a BA cum laude in mathematics from Rosemont College. Barbara is a member of the Drug Information Association.