While the emails I'm getting from various organizations imply that 2022 will be a return to travel and hotel conference centers, many conferences—including the 2022 PRIM&R Annual Conference—will continue to have a virtual conference option. After a full year of attending virtual conferences, I'd like to reflect on what worked for me and what didn't. Read more
If asked in 2019 what my predictions of 2020 might be, it would have not included the near-constant use of Zoom. Despite the obstacles we faced in 2020 (and continue to face today), ethicists, educators, professionals, and researchers are finding innovative ways to ask questions, share stories, commiserate, and inspire conversations. Read more
I recommend all young professionals attend at least one PRIM&R Conference. PRIM&R has become an ever-growing repository of knowledge for research ethics and compliance, and the attending a conference will refresh your passion for research ethics. I felt my career path strengthening by establishing connections with likeminded individuals nationally and internationally. The willingness to collaborate, share, and advise could easily be witnessed in each session, break, and lunch period. I established new relationships that helped me understand the history of research ethics and IRBs in higher education. Operating a single staff IRB program can feel very isolating; the connections and knowledge gained from attending the PRIM&R SBER/AER Conference reduced the isolation I felt and gave me hope for the future of research ethics. Read more
I had the pleasure of attending PRIM&R’s IRB Administrator Boot Camp (including IRB 101 and 201) in Chicago and it was a great experience! All of us are facing new challenges and uncertainties with the Common Rule update and it is difficult to anticipate how changes will be implemented in the future. It was reassuring to hear that other institutions are optimistic about future transitions, especially concerning the not-so-distant single IRB mandate. Read more
At my institution we frequently struggle with recruiting IACUC members and then keeping them on the committee once they realize the required time commitment. In an IACUC18 session titled “Keeping the Key Players in Your Animal Care and Use Program Informed and Engaged,” Helen O’Meara, Jo Ann Henry, and Ernie Prentice, PhD, shared fantastic strategies for keeping committee members informed and engaged. Read more
