As we wrap up Member Appreciation Month, PRIM&R would like to highlight some of our members—individuals who work daily to advance ethical research on a daily basis. Today, we highlight Connor Bryant, Research Coordinator at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Mr. Bryant shared with us what has shaped his professional experience so far and how PRIM&R events and programs connect him to the larger research ethics community. Read more
“Well, it depends” is something I think we’ve all said to a student or faculty researcher when they ask when a project requires IRB review. These gray areas get especially complicated when it comes to program improvement projects and ethnographic research. Furthermore, I think a lot of researchers submit to the IRB as insurance or just out of habit. It is important to remember, however, that not all activities that researchers may be involved in–even if they are employing research skills–are research. Read more
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sponsored the RAND Corporation, in cooperation with the Scripps Translational Sciences Institute, to conduct a survey of IRBs. Read more
If you have ever reviewed a research study as a member or administrator of an IRB that included or involved pregnant research participants, you may be eligible for a new study on the enrollment of pregnant women in clinical research. As a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, bioethicist, and the study principal investigator, I hope you will consider participating in a 20 to 25 minute online survey on IRB views and experiences reviewing research involving pregnant women. Read more
PRIM&R invited members of our Emerging Professionals Working Group (EPWG) to write about topics of relevance to their work and to the research ethics community. We hope these posts open conversations among research ethics oversight professionals at all points in their careers. In this post, Tonya Ferraro shares how the Socratic Method of instruction—interactive dialogue and questioning—can be a helpful tool when training new administrators. Read more
