2010 Human Research Protection Award Recipients Announced

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Awards for Excellence in Human Research Protection for 2010 were announced today by Dr. Peter G. Goldschmidt, President and Founder of the Health Improvement Institute.

Recipients of an Annual Award included:

• Best practice: Human Research Protection Office, Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO), Community Engaged Research Program. The objective of this program is to support research that addresses community concerns and issues while providing an infrastructure and education in the ethical conduct of collaborative research projects.
• Innovation: Simmons College (Boston, MA), Responding to Research Wrongdoing: A User Friendly Guide. This tool applies what was learned from a large-scale research project to assist those working in research settings with guidance for proactively responding and intervening when research wrongdoing is suspected.
• Lifetime achievement: Angela J. Bowen, M.D. (Chair, Board of Directors, Western Institutional Review Board, Inc., Olympia, WA) - for her influence in shaping policies and practices underlying the protection of the rights and welfare of human participants in research.

Recipients of an Award of Excellence included:

• Best practice: Family Health International (Durham, NC), Research Ethics Training Curriculum (RETC) Second Edition. The curriculum instructs those conducting research with human subjects in three basic principles which extend to entire communities where research is conducted: 1) respect, 2) beneficence, and 3) justice.
• Lifetime achievement: Celia B. Fisher, Ph.D. (Director, Center for Ethics Education, Fordham University, Bronx, NY) - for promoting the protection of vulnerable, marginalized, and at-risk participants in research.

"The Award program offers a way to gain positive recognition for excellence in the field of human research protection," said Dr. Goldschmidt. "This year's awards continue the high standard in applications for an Award since the program began."

Awards are given for demonstrated excellence in promoting the wellbeing of people who participate in research. The Health Improvement Institute created this Award program. The Office of Human Research Protection was its founding sponsor. Judges and Committee and Award Advisory Board members are volunteers. This year's judges were drawn from provider, research review, compliance, legal, and consulting organizations.

About Health Improvement Institute:

Health Improvement Institute is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to improving the quality and productivity of America's health care. The Institute's principal program objective is to provide information to enable people to make informed health care choices. The Institute has established expertise in evaluating the quality of health information on the Internet, conducts forums and workshops, and sponsors national awards programs to recognize excellence, including the Award for Excellence in Human Research Protection. For more information, visit http://www.hii.org .  

The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) - together with the federal Food and Drug Administration - oversees programs for the protection of human subjects at more than 4,000 HHS-funded universities, hospitals, and other medical and behavioral research institutions and private research sites in the United States and abroad.

For information about 2011 Award for Excellence in Human Research Protection, please contact Award Coordinator at 301-320-0965 or by email at [email protected].

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SOURCE Health Improvement Institute