Earlier this spring, the Maine Regulatory Training and Ethics Center (MeRTEC) launched the COVID-19 Learning IRB, a free, nonprofit “learning” IRB to review COVID-19 related research. To learn more about this initiative, we interviewed Stephen Rosenfeld, MD, a partner in the initiative and a PRIM&R board member. Read more
The IRB at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is quite small, and I was curious, in attending AER19 and connecting with other HRPP professionals, how we compared with other small institutions. As a young professional in a single-staff IRB office, I was also looking for tricks of the trade to improve my limited capabilities and address challenges that arise. Clear communication with campus stakeholders and planning small improvement objectives are effective measures when working against challenges like budget, capacity, and misconceptions. Read more
Just by reading this title you probably have guessed that I am a big Star Wars Fan. We are a special breed, one that grew up with the movies and who like to complain about changes to the original saga. I will save you from my opinion on whether Han truly shot first or not, but as the last movie of the Star Wars franchise was released, I cannot help but notice some parallels between the journey of a Jedi and the work of an IRB professional working with single IRB studies.
A Jedi in these movies is a reluctant student, one forced to learn the ways of the Force due to the [...] Read more
I have been an IACUC Administrator for fifteen years and a long-time member of PRIM&R. I can remember my first PRIM&R IACUC Conference back in 2005: all the excitement and anticipation of learning new ideas and best practices. From time to time I’m asked why I still go to PRIM&R IACUC if I've already gone before. And my reply is, because it’s always exciting and new! Like regulatory compliance itself, the conferences always offer new knowledge to be gained, new friends to meet, and exciting adventures to be had. Read more
Do you think of customer service when you think of IACUC Administration? No? Well, maybe you should! I recently attended a fabulous session at PRIM&R’s 2018 IACUC Conference entitled “Incorporating Quality Customer Service into IACUC Administration”. We don’t often think of customer service as applying to regulatory compliance. But if instead of viewing regulatory compliance as enforcement, we view it as a service, we may begin to see compliance increase. Read more
