News Release

Lifespan research program earns national recognition

IRBNet singles out Lifespan's Human Research Subject Protection Program

Grant and Award Announcement

Lifespan

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – IRBNet, the leading research and compliance software solution supporting institutional review boards (IRBs) in the United States, has awarded the research division of Lifespan, Rhode Island's largest health care system, with the IRBNet Ethics in Human Research Protection Award, in recognition of Lifespan's demonstrated excellence and leadership in human research subject protection.

IRBNet has presented the 5th Annual IRBNet Ethics in Human Research Protection Award to Lifespan's Human Research Subject Protection Program (HRPP), acknowledging its accomplishment in safeguarding and promoting the health and welfare of human research subjects. Lifespan's HRPP team works to ensure that rights, safety, and well-being of human subjects are protected by providing timely and high-quality education, reviewing and monitoring research involving human subjects, and facilitating excellence in human subject research. IRBNet has singled out the extraordinary work of Peggy McGill, Lifespan's administrator director for Research Administration, and Patricia Houser, director for Lifespan's Research Subjects' Protection, and their team.

"We are very pleased to receive this recognition as it really is a testament to our multi-tiered human research protections program," said McGill. "There is wide and significant support for this program from across Lifespan, which underscores our commitment to protecting human subjects."

IRBNet is the research and compliance software subsidiary of WIRB-Copernicus Group, the world's largest provider of regulatory and ethical review services for human research. IRBNet's annual Ethics in Human Research Protection Award celebrates the exceptional individual or institution that embodies excellence in the field of human subject research, as determined by 90 detailed, objective performance metrics for biomedical and social/behavioral research. Award recipients must clearly demonstrate efficiency and efficacy of human subject research oversight, cultivation of a culture of research ethics across the institution, commitment to drive change, and contribution to excellence in the field.

"We are delighted to present the 5th Annual IRBNet Ethics in Human Research Protection Award to Lifespan, and its deserving HRPP team," said Andrew Olmsted, IRBNet executive vice president for Member Services. "This team is on the front line, protecting the rights of the research subjects as well as the integrity and moral responsibility of their research institutions. We commend Lifespan on their diligent work, and on their leadership status within the IRBNet National Research Network."

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The IRBNet National Research Network is comprised of over 1,700 high-performing research institutions and agencies relying on IRBNet's unique software application and unique data analysis capabilities. IRBNet's solutions enable members to benchmark internal performance and drive process improvement. As a service to its clients and the industry, IRBNet publishes its aggregated data annually, as the National Research Network Benchmark Report.

Previous IRBNet Ethics in Human Research Protection Award winners include Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass.; Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y.; and Nemours in Jacksonville, Fla. In industry circles, the ethics award is affectionately known as "The Lizzie," in deference to its inaugural recipient, Elizabeth Bankert, past president of Applied Research Ethics National Association (ARENA) and assistant provost at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

About Lifespan

Lifespan, a not-for-profit organization, is Rhode Island's largest health care system. Formed in 1994, it includes Rhode Island Hospital and its Hasbro Children's Hospital; The Miriam Hospital; Bradley Hospital and Newport Hospital. Lifespan (www.lifespan.org) is the state's largest private employer, with about 12,000 employees, and is affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Lifespan hospitals are among the top recipients in the country of research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The hospitals received more than $80 million in external research funding in fiscal 2011. All Lifespan-affiliated hospitals are charitable organizations that depend on support from the community to provide programs and services.

About IRBNet

A WIRB-Copernicus Group Company IRBNet offers the world's most widely used electronic solution for managing research compliance for institutions of any size, with more than 1,700 large, medium and small research institutions, boards and research sites registered on the National Research Network®. National Research Network® members benefit from secure online access to comprehensive research oversight tools anywhere, anytime, including real-time collaboration between investigators and institutions anywhere in the world. The National Research Network Enterprise Portal further enables institutions to navigate the complex federal ethics compliance requirements governing human, animal, and recombinant DNA research, while seamlessly managing Conflict of Interest, Sponsored Programs and other critical research oversight activities. With the release of the National Research Network 2012 Benchmark Report, IRBNet's unparalleled data-driven performance metrics make it easier than ever for universities and colleges, community hospitals, hospital networks, and federal and state agencies to benchmark internal performance and drive process improvement across multiple sites and complex organizational systems. For further information on IRBNet, please visit https://www.irbnet.org.

IRBNet and National Research Network are marks of Research Dataware, LLC. All rights are reserved and no use of the marks are permitted without the express written consent of Research Dataware, LLC.

About WIRB-Copernicus Group

The nation's leading independent institutional review boards (IRB's) are united to provide a comprehensive ethical review solution to sponsors, CROs and institutions. Guided by a team of ethical and regulatory experts, WIRB-Copernicus Group deploys decades of experience and best-practices in protocol compliance, operational excellence, financial performance and overall efficiency. With more than 60 years of combined experience reviewing research protocols and study-related information, it is the mission of WIRB-Copernicus Group to meet the highest standards of ethics and science, and to ensure the safety and welfare of subjects worldwide. For more information, visit www.wcgirb.com.


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