Delivering unparalleled reach and expertise for cardiovascular trials worldwide
Velocity PIs have led pivotal trials contributing to multiple respiratory therapy approvals
Respiratory diseases remain a global health challenge, impacting millions and driving urgent demand for better therapies. Velocity’s Respiratory Council to Accelerate Research Excellence (CARE) will help you meet that need — delivering expert oversight, strategic guidance, and operational excellence for clinical trials targeting respiratory conditions.
Led by top pulmonologists and clinicians with deep research and medical experience, the CARE Council ensures that every trial benefits from best practices, optimized site performance, and targeted patient access.
Deep Therapeutic Expertise: The Respiratory CARE Council enhances the way all Velocity sites conduct asthma, COPD, and respiratory disease trials. Before your trials even being, Velocity’s world-class investigators can also provide early protocol and study design guidance to streamline execution.
Unmatched Patient Access: With extensive patient databases backed by proprietary, AI-enabled VISION technology, Velocity will align your trial with the right patients and investigators, ensuring reliable enrollment and continuity of care.
Reach and capabilities
- 35+ Velocity sites with extensive pulmonology research experience
- 45+ sites ready for respiratory trials with CARE Council oversight
- Expertise in common and complex respiratory diseases
- Specialized recruitment strategies for specialty populations
- Advanced diagnostic capabilities, including spirometry, FeNO testing, and imaging
- Seamless coordination between general medicine sites and pulmonology centers
- World-class diversity and community engagement initiatives
- Expertise in diagnostics and device research
- Access to millions of patient lives
Cardiometabolic CARE Council Leaders
Velocity's Cardiometabolic CARE Council is led by distinguished physicians. The council leverages their vast experience in respiratory-related medical practice and research, alongside Velocity sites and staff that have supported thousands of trials.
Luis De La Cruz, MD
Dr. De La Cruz is a Principal Investigator at Velocity’s Greenville, SC site. He is also the Director of the Sleep Division at Upstate Lung and Critical Care, as well as the Medical Director of Sleep Services at Cherokee Medical Center in Gaffney, SC. Dr. De la Cruz has been a successful PI for more than a decade. He attended medical school in Lima, Peru and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Southern Illinois University. He continued with a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL and his Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL.
Board Certifications: Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine
Henrik Watz, MD
Dr. Watz is a pulmonologist and internist at Velocity’s Ahrensburg, Germany, site, which has been a top global enroller for multiple COPD trials. A prolific investigator, he has contributed extensively to research in various pulmonology indications, including COPD, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and pulmonary hypertension in fibrosing lung diseases. Prior to joining Velocity, Dr. Watz co-led the Pulmonary Research Institute at the LungeClinic Grosshansdorf (PRI). During his tenure, PRI conducted over 300 studies and contributed to more than 250 publications and 300 conferences.
Board Certifications: Pulmonology, Internal Medicine
Sarah Smiley, DO, FACP
Sarah Smiley, DO, FACP, directs physician operations at and continues to serve as a Principal Investigator at the company’s dedicated research centers in Medford, OR, and Spokane, WA. She leads Velocity’s medical affairs. This includes clinical oversight and support of the company’s network of regional medical directors and clinical trials investigators.
A highly respected physician in both medical practice and research, Dr. Smiley has been involved in clinical research since 2007, with extensive experience in cardiometabolic, respiratory, obesity, endocrine, immune disorders, and vaccine indications. Dr. Smiley is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine, including training in pain management. Her experience extends into not only clinical care, but also medical group leadership and regulatory oversight, making her a key driver of operational excellence in clinical research. She is known for fostering collaboration across teams and elevating the role of physicians in shaping research strategy.
Dr. Smiley earned her medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and completed her residency at the current University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.
Farhan Siddiqui, MD
Dr. Siddiqui is a Principal Investigator at Velocity’s Spartanburg, SC, site. His research interests include mechanical ventilation, critical care, lung cancer, and the management of chronic respiratory illnesses. He specializes in endobronchial ultrasound-guided lung biopsy, which he applies in Pulmonary and Internal Medicine studies at Velocity. Dr. Siddiqui also practices at Upstate Lung and Critical Care Specialists, serving patients in Spartanburg, Gaffney, Greenville, and Union, SC. He attended medical school at Baqai Medical University and completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT. He then pursued further training in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA.
Board Certifications: Critical Care Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Internal Medicine
A transformative model to confront the inefficiencies that plague clinical trials
1: Drug Development Technology. (2012). Clinical trial delays: America’s patient recruitment dilemma. | 2: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. (2013). Impact report: 89% of trials meet enrollment, but timelines slip, half of sites under-enroll. Vol. 15, No. 1. | 3: Kaitin, K. I. (2006). Fastest drug developers consistently best peers on key performance metrics. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Impact Report, 8(5). | 4: Hess, J. (n.d.). Web-based patient recruitment: best opportunity to accelerate clinical trials.
Therapeutic capabilities
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI)
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
- Asthma (including eosinophilic asthma)
- Bronchitis
- Chronic Obstructive
- Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Chronic Rhinosinusitis
- Common Cold and Cough
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Emphysema
- Nasal Congestion and Nasal Polyps
- Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (NCFB)
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Rhinitis and Rhinoconjunctivitis
- Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)