AAHRPP revises standards
The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) recently issued the final version of the first major revision of its standards since AAHRPP was founded eight years ago.
AAHRPP, a nonprofit accreditation organization, streamlined the number of standards and increased flexibility in how to interpret them, even as it added or strengthened standards on global research, conflict of interest, community-based research, and data and safety monitoring, according to the organization's news announcement.
The organization comprehensively reviewed its standards, strengthening, updating, and streamlining them.
There are no major changes in the requirements for accreditation, but the changes provide a more logical framework for a human research protection program, according the Marjorie A. Speers, Ph.D., President and CEO of AAHRPP.
Overall, AAHRPP has reduced the number of standards from 22 to 15, and the number of elements, from 77 to 60.
AAHRPP began developing a set of Proposed Revised Accreditation Standards at the end of 2008, and presented them for public comment on June 1, 2009. When the comment period ended on July 30, 2009, AAHRPP used those comments to develop the Final Revised Accreditation Standards issued on Oct. 1, 2009.
Research organizations that apply for accreditation through Feb. 28, 2010, may follow the revised standards or the current standards, which were in effect before Oct. 1, 2009. Then on March 1, 2010, all new applicants will have to follow the revised standards, which will be called the AAHRPP Accreditation Standards.
To view the Final Revised Accreditation Standards, visit AAHRPP's Web site at aahrpp.org. The Evaluation Instrument for Accreditation based on these revised standards also is available on the Web site.
Researchers have new online social network
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) of Washington, DC, has recently launched the Clinical and Translational Science Network (CTSciNet), a social network for people involved in careers in clinical and translational research.
AAAS also launched My Science Network, MySciNet, a social network that connects minority women scientists, engineers, and students.
The sites were developed with funding from several scientific societies, corporate and foundation funding. CTSciNet was funded by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and CTSciNete received funding from Genentech and Pfizer.
The goal is to promote the professional development of scientists and to meet key science policy objectives, according to Jim Austin, a principal investigator for the CTSciNet project.
Scientists may access the social networks for free, joining virtual groups, reading articles, and passing along information from outside sources.
The networks have features similar to other social network sites online, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. The sites will be monitored by Science Careers staff and are exclusive to scientists, science trainees, science career experts, and science professionals, according to a news announcement by AAAS.
Also, Science Careers provides free resources for scientists, including online articles, booklets, webinars, and workshops.
The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) recently issued the final version of the first major revision of its standards since AAHRPP was founded eight years ago.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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