TIME has named Kathy Giusti, Founder and CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), to the 2011 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Guisti was selected for the TIME 100 list for the progress she has made in the way medical research and drug development are conducted and improving the outlook for patients with multiple myeloma, a deadly form of blood cancer, as well as other cancers.

In 2004, Kathy founded the MMRF’s affiliate organization, MMRC to focus on conducting phase I and phase II clinical trials of novel compounds. To date, the MMRC has launched 30 clinical trials of new and combination therapies 60% faster than the industry standard, including eight now in late stage clinical development.