Translational Research & Institutional Ethics

The Research Ethics Achievement Program (REAP) - is a collaboration between the Berman Institute and the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Johns Hopkins, which is part of the CTSA consortium. A group of Berman faculty members with affiliations in the schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing participate in REAP. REAP has conducted a needs assessment of the research ethics community at Johns Hopkins and used the results to identify projects and facilitate policy revisions related to ethics training.

REAP also provides research ethics-related services to investigators and students, including the Research Ethics Consulting Service http://ictr.johnshopkins.edu/ connection/”

Trust, Integrity, and Ethics in Science (TIES) – TIES is a working group of bioethicists that in 2005 convened a two-day workshop in which leaders from sectors outside of academic science and health care that, like biomedical research, are also dependent on the public’s trust. These leaders provided information about what their sectors do to earn the public’s trust that is applicable to academic biomedical research institutions, as well as insights into ways academic research institutions should respond to crises that have the potential to diminish the public’s trust. TIES used the results, as well as a conceptual model of cultural maturity, to formulate recommendations to foster the advancement of the culture of biomedical research. Gail Geller is a member of TIES, and served as an investigator in this project and organized the meeting. Abstract

A Study to Evaluate the Effect of Investigator Attendance on the Efficiency of IRB review– This study analyzed protocols from 5 IRBs to determine the effect of investigator attendance on the length of the review period, the amount correspondence between investigators and IRBs, and the number of convened IRB meetings in which a protocol is discussed. Holly Taylor and Nancy Kass were investigators in this project. Article in IRB

Taylor H. Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children in Clinical Trials: Opinions of Research Ethics Board Administrators. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics 2009 4(2):65-73.

Whicher D, Currie P, Taylor H. Factors that Influence Institutional Review Board Member Commitment to their Role Responsibilities. IRB: Ethics & Human Research 2009 31(5):15-9.

Taylor HA, Chaisson L, Sugarman J. Enhancing communication among data monitoring committees and institutional review boards. Clinical Trials 2008; 5;277-282.

Taylor H. Beyond Compliance: The Need for a Measure of Ethical Quality to Enhance the Oversight of Human Subject Research. IRB: Ethics and Human Research, 2007; 29(5): 9-14