MedEvidence! Truth Behind the Data · Dr. Michael Koren

Javonte Maynor is Making Sure You Are Represented in Medicine

December 31, 2025·33 min·2 clips

Javonte Maynor's grandmother died at 49 from a heart attack despite being physically active — prompting him to investigate whether drugs approved without minority trial data could explain early Black mortality.

Javante Maynor comes into the episode through his own story. Schramm introduces him as a clinical research colleague, then steps back into Maynor's Division I basketball background and the path that led him into research. The conversation stays close to patients. Maynor ties representation in research to the everyday places where people already talk, especially in his St. Petersburg community, where some people are already caring for elderly relatives and neighbors. He says Black women and men working in research roles could bring trial awareness into health events, family conversations, and community circles. The point is plain: more representative staffing may not close every participation gap, but it gives trust a better place to start. Schramm slows down there. He names the history behind research hesitancy and the trust problems that still come with it, then points to protections now built into clinical research. Institutional review boards and a clearer awareness of that history matter, but the episode keeps coming back to relationships. Maynor is not selling a theory. He is talking about cousins, aunts, grandmothers, medical assistants, coordinators, and phlebotomists as real bridges between research sites and communities. Schramm gives him room to explain how community presence and collaboration could change who hears about clinical trials. The close looks ahead, with Maynor talking about networks and partnerships while Schramm invites him back.

As heard by us

A practical look at representation, trust, and how clinical research can reach more communities.

MedEvidence turns a familiar question into a grounded, human story: who gets pulled into medical research, who is often left out, and what it takes to narrow that gap.

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Why you'd press play

You want a grounded path from Division I basketball into clinical research operations.

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