PRIM&R advances the ethical conduct of research, in part, because of the work of its committed members. At November’s 2016 Advancing Ethical Research Conference (AER16), PRIM&R recognized the substantial achievements and contributions of Patricia MacCubbin in presenting her the 2016 Applied Research Ethics National Association (ARENA) Legacy Award.

“ [Ms.] MacCubbin has promoted the education of those involved in the oversight or conduct of ethical research throughout her career. Most prominently, she… accomplished this while employed with the City University of New York (CUNY). Overseeing 21 IRBs on 18 CUNY campuses, Ms. MacCubbin promoted attendance at [professional conferences such as AER], brought in consultants, and joined forces with other organizations to provide education to her staff, each person involved in research at the CUNY campuses, and… the community of researchers outside of CUNY. … Her years of experience and dedication have been invaluable to learning.”

MacCubbin has been an active PRIM&R member since 1999. She has served as chair and a member of 5 SBER conference subcommittees, as a member of the Poster Abstract Subcommittee for 3 conferences, and as faculty at 12 PRIM&R conferences. She currently serves as the president and CEO of Research Ethics Group in Burlington, Vermont. 

In addition to the time she dedicates to PRIM&R, MacCubbin is a chair of the ethics committee for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and a member of ACRP, and serves as a consulting editor for human subjects protections for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. She is also senior consultant for the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare and serves on the planning committees for their annual conference and regional workshops.

Professionally, she has held a variety of leadership positions, including vice president and head of board operations at Schulman IRB, executive director of the Office of Research Conduct and special assistant to the vice chancellor for research at the CUNY. At CUNY she was responsible for the university’s entire human research protection program. She also advised the vice chancellor on animal welfare and responsible conduct of research issues.

In addition to her roles at Schulman IRB and CUNY, she served as the IRB director at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and as vice chair and administrative coordinator of the IRB at the New York State Department of Health in Albany, NY.

Susan Z. Kornetsky, MPH, chair of PRIM&R’s Board of Directors, presented the award to MacCubbin and recognized her achievements in both human subjects research ethics and animal care and use. In her acceptance of the award, MacCubbin said: “We do things to save people and keep them from being hurt… we don’t think about who we’ve helped, but there’s so many millions of people that we’ve helped without knowing who they are. So I just want you to know how important it is what we do.”

PRIM&R thanks Ms. MacCubbin for her leadership and her commitment to human subjects research protections and animal care and use. The ARENA Legacy Award recognizes PRIM&R members who have made exemplary contributions to the mission and goals of PRIM&R by significantly promoting the ethical conduct of research through mentoring, teaching, and leadership. This award was developed to honor not only those chosen, but also the living legacy created by the ARENA, the membership division of PRIM&R from 1986 to 2006. Nominations are accepted through June 30, 2017. Visit www.primr.org/aboutus/awards for more information