How CARRA Is Winning by Making Patients Part of the Team

Some organizations treat patient input as a formality. CARRA treats it like fuel. By inviting families to shape everything from research priorities to communications, they’ve built something rare: a model where patients are embedded not just included. It’s making their work stronger, smarter, and more sustainable. Here’s how. Vincent Del Gaizo, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Patient Engagement and Erin Moriarty Wade, Director of Communications & Marketing at the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA), are helping lead one of the most patient-integrated research models in healthcare. Swaay.Health sat down with Wade and Del Gaizo to uncover the secret behind CARRA’s uniquely collaborative approach.