From: Susan Guthrie
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 8:58 AM
Subject: UA Human Subjects Protection Program First Institution in AZ To Be Accredited by AAHRPP

UA Human Subjects Protection Program First Institution in Arizona
To Be Fully Accredited by AAHRPP

 

Contact: Jean Spinelli or George Humphrey, (520) 626-7301                                                  Dec. 8, 2005
or Susan Guthrie, (602) 631-6555

The Human Subjects Protection Program at The University of Arizona in Tucson is the first institution in Arizona -- and one of only 13 universities nationwide -- to be fully accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP).  Full accreditation recently was awarded following an intensive 10-month accreditation process.

The UA Human Subjects Protection Program protects the rights and welfare of human participants in -- and ensures the integrity of -- all UA research studies involving human participants.  Nearly every department on the UA main and health sciences campuses conducts research involving human participants.  Studies take place at on- and off-campus locations.

The AAHRPP offers voluntary accreditation to institutions engaged in research involving human participants.  The accreditation process is based on self-assessment, peer-review and education.  Organizations must demonstrate that extensive safeguards are built into every level of their research operation. AAHRPP standards require that all research meet the federal government protections for research participants (the federal government requires such protections only for federally sponsored or federally regulated research) and also requires additional protections, including conflict-of-interest rules and community education.

“This accreditation is an acknowledgement of our commitment to protecting human subjects, and establishes a ‘gold seal’ of rigorous protection standards for human research participants,” says Rebecca Dahl, PhD, RN, director, UA Human Subjects Protection Program.

Full accreditation is valid for three years, and accredited organizations submit annual reports to AAHRPP based on the status of their human research protection programs. 

The UA Human Subjects Protection Program includes three institutional review boards (IRBs) that oversee behavioral science and biomedical research and provide continuing review of studies involving human participants.  IRB members include UA faculty members and representatives from the Tucson community.
 
Theodore J. Glattke, PhD, chairperson of the UA Behavioral Science Committee IRB and professor, UA Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and UA Department of Surgery, has been invited to present at the AAHRPP national conference scheduled for
Feb. 26-28, 2006, in Phoenix.

The UA Human Subjects Protection Program offers a free brochure with information about participating in UA research studies; for a copy, contact the UA Human Subjects Protection Program, (520) 626-6721.  More information also is available on the UA Human Subjects Protection Program web site,
www.irb.arizona.edu.

Since its inception in 2001, AAHRPP has accredited 28 organizations representing a total of 88 entities, and currently is working with more than 210 organizations already in the accreditation process.  AAHRPP founding members include the Association of Medical Colleges, Association of American Universities, Consortium of Social Science Associations, Federation of American Societies for Experiment Biology, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, National Health Council, and Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research.  More information is available at the AAHRPP web site,
www.aahrpp.org

 

Susan Guthrie
Senior Public Affairs Coordinator
University of Arizona, College of Medicine - Phoenix
4001 N. Third Street, Suite 401
Phoenix, Arizona  85012
602-631-6555 (office) 480-241-7738 (cell)
sguthrie@email.arizona.edu

www.phoenix.arizona.edu

 

To read about the expansion of the UA College of Medicine in Phoenix go to http://www.phoenix.medicine.arizona.edu/About/News/Campus/