Meet Gretchen Parker, PhD, RAC, CIP, who’ll be covering the 2020 Advancing Ethical Research Conference (AER20) as a member of the Blog Squad. Members of PRIM&R’s conference Blog Squad provide an insider’s view of the conferences by sharing their experience before, during, and after the meeting.

Hello Ampersand readers! This is my second time serving as a member of the Blog Squad. I look forward to creating helpful and interesting posts for you as AER20 progresses.

Trained as a basic scientist, I received a PhD in Molecular Endocrinology and Biochemistry from Purdue University, and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for Diabetes Research. I am currently a chair at Pearl IRB.

My fascination with ethics started when I took a class on the subject in graduate school. That class reminded me that meaningful regulatory oversight helps to prevent the complacency that often leads to tragedies in research. From the Nazi war crime trials to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, human subjects protections have been lacking throughout history. With the explosion of COVID-19 cases and the exciting scientific discoveries surrounding that issue, the protection of human subjects is more important than ever.

I have considerable experience assessing and updating IRB policies and procedures to comply with AAHRPP requirements and the revised Common Rule. I have enjoyed hearing about varying state requirements in the past and would love to learn more about community issues. I would also like to connect with someone to discuss limited IRB reviews and hear more about the government contracting process. My goal is to learn and blog about these issues.

This will be my third AER conference and I look forward to meeting a diverse group of people with varying responsibilities and approaches to the protection of persons involved in research. I am excited to connect with you at AER20, and if you see me online during the conference, please introduce yourself! 

Gretchen Parker, PhD, RAC, CIP, serves as co-chair for Pearl IRB and provides regulatory and clinical research support services for clients. Throughout her career, she has been deeply involved in regulatory affairs, clinical research, and medical writing for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.  She led the AAHRPP accreditation efforts at Pearl IRB and has assisted FDA inspectors on-site. She also led the efforts to update Pearl IRB institutional policies and procedures to comply with the revised Common Rule.

Dr. Parker began her career as a Regulatory and Compliance Analyst at a consulting firm, where she worked with clients, ranging from biotech start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, to plan and implement regulatory strategies, submissions, and research protocols. Her duties engaged her with several US governmental agencies, including FDA, USDA, and EPA.

Dr. Parker received a PhD in Molecular Endocrinology and Biochemistry from Purdue University, and completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for Diabetes Research.  She has authored and published dozens of scientific articles in major peer-reviewed journals, holds a patent for a diagnostic assay, and is a member of PRIM&R and AAHRPP. She is Regulatory Affairs Certified (RAC) and a Certified IRB Professional (CIP).

Members of PRIM&R’s Blog Squad and other guest contributors are valued members of our community willing to share their insights. The views expressed in their posts do not necessarily reflect those of PRIM&R or its employees.

PRIM&R’s 2020 Advancing Ethical Research Conference takes place virtually as a series of shorter, half-day online events spread out over three weeks in December (December 1-2, December 8-9, December 15-16). Register by November 30 to attend all three weeks! (You can register for weeks two and three until December 7 and December 14, respectively.)