What if the secret to better clinical trials isn’t another technology, but something we’ve been losing along the way?

Wouter Daniels shares five lessons from his experience working with clinical trial sites, exploring how empathy, communication, and stronger relationships can improve trial performance. His ultimate secret? Sometimes the most powerful innovation is simply human connection.

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About Wouter

Wouter Daniels is a Medical Biologist with more than 20 years of experience in Clinical Development & Operations across both local and global roles. As Global Trial Patient & Site Engagement Lead at Boehringer Ingelheim, he is dedicated to bringing patient and site perspectives closer to the design and delivery of clinical trials.

Before stepping into his current global role, Wouter held positions at Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk and joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 2013. He has extensive experience across cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, NASH, CKD, and heart failure, with a particularly personal connection to diabetes through family experience.

He is especially passionate about working with sites, site staff, and patient organizations to make trials more relevant, practical, and patient-centered. He also created the Site Engagement Academy for site- facing roles within Boehringer Ingelheim, underscoring his commitment to strengthening capabilities and collaboration across clinical development.

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Filmed at Innovation Network Gathering | West Chester, PA, USA | October 2026

Credits:

- Event Production: Smith & Jones Innovation
- Direction & Speaker Support: Jeff Smith
- Production & Stage Management: Michelle Jones
- Stage Design & Lighting: Brandi Borchers | Indigo Design
- Video Capture: Jackson Townsend | Overall Films
- Video Editing: Overall Films
- Screen Assets & Video Engineer: Hunter Loveridge | Picture This
- Sound Engineer: Jason Samuels | Uptown! Knauer Center for Performing Arts
- Sound Engineer: George Koenig | Uptown! Knauer Center for Performing Arts