Laura Hanson, MS, PMP is a people‑centered leader in clinical research operations at Mayo Clinic. As the Director of Research Operations in the Office of Clinical Trials, she guides enterprise clinical trial operations in bringing forward new trials to the organization, aligning strategy, operational excellence, and change management to strengthen research activation. Across prior roles, Laura has led clinical trial and core laboratory operations and applied project and operations management expertise to build new offices, support process improvement, and enhance service delivery.

Laura’s work focuses on mentoring and empowering research teams—embedding practical project management, regulatory stewardship, and continuous‑improvement habits that help early‑career staff grow into confident, collaborative professionals. Her work centers on coaching teams through complex transformational change to elevate service delivery and accelerate study activation.

Committed to lifelong learning, Laura holds an MS from Iowa State University and maintains PMP and Prosci Change Management certifications.