New site brings deep neuroscience, neuromodulation, and interventional psychiatry expertise into Lightship’s coordinated trial model, marking the network’s first location in California
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — Aug. 19, 2026 — Lightship Inc., the clinical trial site network that brings research to participants, today announced the expansion of their network with DOR Research Accelerator. DOR specializes in translational neuroscience, neuromodulation, and interventional psychiatry, strengthening Lightship’s CNS and psychiatry capabilities and adding new depth in rheumatology and cardiothoracic and vascular surgery.
“DOR strengthens the expertise sponsors ask for: deep, hands-on experience in CNS and psychiatry from prominent physicians,” said Michael Shipton, Chief Business Officer of Lightship. “Our first site in California puts that expertise to work in a market where demand for neuroscience and psychiatry trials keeps climbing. Paired with Lightship’s hybrid delivery model, we’re giving sponsors expanded reach to representative participant populations and another strong site inside a network built around the protocol.”
Based in Costa Mesa, California, DOR’s site is led by:
- Robert Bota, MD, MSG, DFAPA: Dr. R. Bota is a board-certified psychiatrist and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, recognized for advancing TMS and neuromodulation therapies for treatment-resistant depression and OCD. He previously served as Principal Investigator at CenExel CNS and helped establish one of California’s first large-scale TMS programs at UC Irvine. He is the Medical Director of DOR Research Accelerator, and the main Principal Investigator for the psychiatry clinical trial portfolio,including advising on research-protocol design, and regulatory oversight.
- Dragos Serseni, MD, MBA, MPA: Dr. Serseni serves as co-Principal Investigator. A board-certified psychiatrist and addiction-medicine specialist, he is Lead Physician of the Neuromodulation Program and Program Director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at the Long Beach VA Healthcare System. Dr. Serseni holds faculty appointments at UC Riverside and Charles Drew University, with a research portfolio spanning PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, and neuromodulation-based interventions.
- Daniela Bota, MD, PhD: Dr. D. Bota is Professor of Neurology at UC Irvine School of Medicine, and former Co-Director of the UCI Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, where she led multi-center trials in CNS tumors and neurological disease. She has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. At DOR Research Accelerator, Dr. Bota advises on clinical trial design, translational neuroscience strategy, and the integration of advanced neuromodulation technologies into patient-centered research.
“Participants dealing with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, or dementia-related agitation often can’t make it into a clinic every week, and that’s exactly where trials lose them,” said Dr. Robert Bota. “Joining the Lightship network gives us the infrastructure to bring visits closer to where they actually are, without giving up the oversight and consistency a study like this requires.”
DOR marks Lightship’s first site in California and grows the network to 16 physical sites across 11 states. Like every site in the Lightship network, DOR now operates under Lightship’s unified SOP framework, matching each visit to what a protocol actually requires, whether that means staying in the clinic, moving to a participant’s home, or bringing in a Mobile Research Unit. Sponsors working with DOR get the same quality standards and oversight they’d find anywhere else in Lightship’s site network, backed by one contract and one team.
To learn how Lightship’s site network and flexible trial delivery model expand reach and improve enrollment, retention, and representation, visit lightship.com.
About Lightship Inc.
Lightship Inc. is a clinical trial site network committed to making research participation possible for all. We partner with biopharma and CROs to execute studies that expand reach and improve participant retention, delivering trials in clinic, at home, and in the community through one experienced team. Our investigators, nurses, and coordinators follow each participant across every setting—whether it’s a physical site, a home visit, a Mobile Research Unit, or virtually—operating under unified SOPs and integrating with the technology platforms sponsors already use. The result is faster enrollment, stronger retention, and broader representation, without the complexity of managing multiple vendors. At Lightship, we bring research to participants. For more information, visit lightship.com.
Media Contact for Lightship:
Brittany Kearns
Crossroads B2B Marketing on behalf of Lightship
571-271-7211