Ephicacy, headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey has appointed Dr. Shekhar Thumake as Head of AI, a newly created leadership position reflecting the biometrics CRO’s increased focus on artificial intelligence within its clinical data operations.
About Dr. Shekhar Thumake
In the role, Thumake will direct Ephicacy’s enterprise AI strategy and the development of agentic AI capabilities designed to improve clinical data workflows, working with clients and delivery teams to identify high-value AI applications while building in interoperability, quality, governance, and regulatory requirements from the ground up. Ephicacy CEO Tara Gladwell said Thumake brings “a rare combination of clinical grounding and technical expertise,” adding that “every advance in how we manage and analyze clinical data ultimately serves patients waiting on new therapies.”
Thumake joins Ephicacy from Axtria, where he spent just over three years as Director-AI and Data, leading the creation of AI and generative AI solutions for clinical operations. There, he built a portfolio of production AI tools, including an agentic platform for digitizing clinical trial protocols to CDISC’s Unified Study Definitions Model (USDM) standard, an LLM-powered patient screening tool that reads unstructured EHR notes against protocol eligibility criteria, agent-based patient identification models for rare disease field teams, and generative AI tools for drafting Clinical Study Reports and EDC database designs.
Before Axtria, Thumake spent more than nine years at Cytel, rising from Principal Clinical Data Manager to Director of Clinical Data Management, where he held P&L accountability for major accounts and led global data management teams. His earlier career included clinical data management and technical leadership roles at Sciformix, PharmaNet/i3, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, and Cognizant Technology Solutions, building deep expertise in EDC platforms, CDASH data standards, and 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Notably, Thumake began his career as a physician, running a private medical practice from 2006 to 2008 before moving into clinical research and data management — the clinical grounding that Ephicacy’s leadership pointed to in announcing his appointment.
“The most valuable applications of AI in biometrics will be those that combine scientific context, trusted data, interoperable standards, and human judgment,” said Thumake. “Ephicacy has the biometrics expertise and client partnerships needed to turn that principle into practical solutions. I look forward to working with our teams and clients to build AI-enabled workflows that are efficient, transparent, and designed for the realities of regulated clinical research.”
Thumake holds a medical degree (B.A.M.S.) from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, an MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research from the Bombay College of Pharmacy, and a postgraduate certificate in Data Science and Business Analytics with a focus on Artificial Intelligence from the Texas McCombs School of Business.
About Ephicacy
Ephicacy is a biometrics contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, that has served the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries since 2005. The company provides clinical data analytics and biometrics solutions — including data management, biostatistics, AI for clinical data operations, real-world evidence analytics, and pharmacovigilance — with a global workforce of more than 500 in-house experts across North America, India, and Europe.
