Dr. Peter G. Goldschmidt announces recipients of Awards for Excellence in Human Research Protection

Awards for Excellence in Human Research Protection were announced today by Dr. Peter G. Goldschmidt, President and Founder of the Health Improvement Institute. Recipients of an Award of Excellence included:

• Harvard Longwood Medical Area Office of Human Research Administration, for its best practice, One-Stop-Shop Model. This revolutionary approach for carrying out IRB review 1) streamlines the review process by eliminating redundant "pre-reviews" and reducing submission turnaround times and 2) facilitates a strong customer service component by providing a direct point of contact for investigators for all IRB-related questions.
• Washington University in St. Louis, for its innovation, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) Digital Commons @Becker. This open access library 1) promotes the ethical conduct of research, 2) encourages professional growth and development by making information easily and readily available, 3) protects human research participants by making information easily discoverable using a key word search, and 4) strengthens the quality of human research protection programs by encouraging communication with researchers and reminding reviewers of the ethics involved when making decisions about a study's approvability.

"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 best practices and innovations that have been submitted for an Award since the program began."

Awards are given for demonstrated excellence in promoting the well being of people who participate in research. The Health Improvement Institute created this Award program. 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.