By Megan Frame, membership manager

Welcome to another installment of our featured member interviews where we introduce you to our members—individuals who work to advance ethical research on a daily basis. Please read on to learn more about their professional experiences, how PRIM&R membership helps connect them to a larger community, and what goes on behind-the-scenes in their lives!

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maribel Martinez, MPH, the newest member of PRIM&R’s Membership Committee, who is the associate director of the human research office at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Megan Frame (MF): When and why did you join the field?
Maribel Martinez (MM): I was given the opportunity to join the field during a career transition over two years ago. My previous experience in the ethical review process of human subjects research had been from a research team perspective.

MF: What’s one specific challenge that you have faced during your career, and how did you overcome it?
MM: Communication is a daily challenge. I work with faculty members, study coordinators, research nurses, etc., but how effectively we communicate varies. To one person on the study team the information we relay may be clear and to everyone else the information may be clear as mud. Learning how to successfully relay information so that all understand is a process that I continue to work on.

MF: What is something you know now that you wish someone had told you when you first entered this field? Or, what is an example(s) of a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
MM: Making connections with others in the field is important. Before attending a PRIM&R At Your Doorstep course, the director with whom I work shared with me how important it is to meet others in the field and network. I wish I had made more of an effort then to connect with the other participants and course faculty; as a result, I now make a greater effort to network with others in field. The opportunity to join the Membership Committee as its newest member will definitely allow me to connect with others that work in the research ethics and oversight fields.


MF: What motivates you to maintain your commitment to advancing ethical research? 
MM: I understand the importance of advancing science through research, but playing a part in protecting those who participate in research is important to me, which maintains my commitment to advancing ethical research

Thank you for joining the Membership Committee, Maribel, we look forward to working with you! 


If you’d like to learn more about becoming a member, please visit our website today.