USU Receives Accreditation in Human Subjects Protection
Utah State University has been accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. The university joins 175 other organizations nationwide to strengthen the protection of human research participants.
“Through accreditation, USU has demonstrated its high ethical standards in protecting research participants,” said Brent Miller, vice president for research at USU. “Utah State is among the first wave of institutions with concentrations of human research in social, behavioral and educational disciplines to achieve accreditation. It is a quantifiable, unbiased evaluation of our research operations, and that creates a greater sense of trust among participants, investigators, sponsors and the public.”
Any research involving human participants — from simple surveys to large-scale clinical trials — must ensure the dignity and safety of everyone involved. This includes maintaining the autonomy of individuals and providing protections for people with limited autonomy, such as children, prisoners and people with disabilities. All human subjects’ research must also ensure that the benefits and burdens of research are distributed fairly.
To do this, USU’s Institutional Review Board, which reviews all research proposals involving humans, requires researchers to obtain informed consent from participants, perform risk/benefit analyses and fairly select participants.
“Although USU’s IRB has done an excellent job of protecting human research participants, unanticipated problems do occur, and there is always room for improvement,” said Miller.
Independent accreditation is quickly becoming a standard for clinical and behavioral research institutions. Applications to AAHRPP have increased exponentially in the past few years in an effort to solidify public trust in the research process.
“This is a country concerned about public trust and confidence in research,” said Marjorie Speers, president and CEO of AAHRPP. “Organizations in the industry are starting to see that independent accreditation is one way to demonstrate their accountability to the industry and to the public.”
“We are extremely pleased to receive this accreditation,” said Stan Albrecht, president of USU. “It serves as recognition that USU is a leader among our colleagues in raising awareness of the importance of meeting rigorous standards.”
USU was one of 17 institutions accredited by AAHRPP this quarter, including two other research universities (Binghamton University of the State University of New York system and the University of California, Riverside) that emphasize social-behavioral research, and the phase one clinical research units of Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company.
“The AAHRPP accreditation of Pfizer is a strong indicator of how important this is,” said Russ Price, USU’s federal compliance manager. “Pfizer has already indicated it will seek out institutional review boards and research partners that are AAHRPP-accredited, and I believe this is an indication of what’s to come for biomedical, behavioral and social science research institutions nationwide.”
To receive the accreditation, USU had to demonstrate that extensive safeguards have been built into every level of the research operation and that the highest standards are adhered to.
“Through accreditation, USU has demonstrated its high ethical standards in protecting research participants,” said Brent Miller, vice president for research at USU. “Utah State is among the first wave of institutions with concentrations of human research in social, behavioral and educational disciplines to achieve accreditation. It is a quantifiable, unbiased evaluation of our research operations, and that creates a greater sense of trust among participants, investigators, sponsors and the public.”
Any research involving human participants — from simple surveys to large-scale clinical trials — must ensure the dignity and safety of everyone involved. This includes maintaining the autonomy of individuals and providing protections for people with limited autonomy, such as children, prisoners and people with disabilities. All human subjects’ research must also ensure that the benefits and burdens of research are distributed fairly.
To do this, USU’s Institutional Review Board, which reviews all research proposals involving humans, requires researchers to obtain informed consent from participants, perform risk/benefit analyses and fairly select participants.
“Although USU’s IRB has done an excellent job of protecting human research participants, unanticipated problems do occur, and there is always room for improvement,” said Miller.
Independent accreditation is quickly becoming a standard for clinical and behavioral research institutions. Applications to AAHRPP have increased exponentially in the past few years in an effort to solidify public trust in the research process.
“This is a country concerned about public trust and confidence in research,” said Marjorie Speers, president and CEO of AAHRPP. “Organizations in the industry are starting to see that independent accreditation is one way to demonstrate their accountability to the industry and to the public.”
“We are extremely pleased to receive this accreditation,” said Stan Albrecht, president of USU. “It serves as recognition that USU is a leader among our colleagues in raising awareness of the importance of meeting rigorous standards.”
USU was one of 17 institutions accredited by AAHRPP this quarter, including two other research universities (Binghamton University of the State University of New York system and the University of California, Riverside) that emphasize social-behavioral research, and the phase one clinical research units of Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company.
“The AAHRPP accreditation of Pfizer is a strong indicator of how important this is,” said Russ Price, USU’s federal compliance manager. “Pfizer has already indicated it will seek out institutional review boards and research partners that are AAHRPP-accredited, and I believe this is an indication of what’s to come for biomedical, behavioral and social science research institutions nationwide.”
To receive the accreditation, USU had to demonstrate that extensive safeguards have been built into every level of the research operation and that the highest standards are adhered to.
“AAHRPP’s standards complement federal regulations by requiring organizations to address conflicts of interest, to provide community outreach and education and to apply the same stringent protections to all research involving human participants, not just those for federally sponsored research,” said Price.
AAHRPP is a non-profit organization that works with organizations that conduct human research to raise the level of protection for research participants. AAHRPP accredits organization that can demonstrate they provide participant safeguards that surpass the threshold of minimum state and federal requirements. The accreditation program utilizes a voluntary, peer-driven educational model.
AAHRPP is a non-profit organization that works with organizations that conduct human research to raise the level of protection for research participants. AAHRPP accredits organization that can demonstrate they provide participant safeguards that surpass the threshold of minimum state and federal requirements. The accreditation program utilizes a voluntary, peer-driven educational model.
Writer: Anna McEntire, (435) 797-7680, anna.mcentire@usu.edu
Contact: Russ Price, (435) 797-8305, russ.price@usu.edu
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