We’d tell you exactly how many days there between now and Thanksgiving, but knowing the exact figure might throw us into a panic. So we’ll just stick with the facts – the holiday season is just about upon us, which means feasts, presents, parties, and keeping any pressing research deadlines in mind. Both Christmas and New […]

Questions about the findings of earlier research (from the New York Times) have led to the pause of an NIH-funded trial testing stem cell therapy in heart failure patients, the Washington Post reported Oct. 29. These reports are significant for several reasons. As the Post’s article notes, subject safety is of primary importance, and a research […]

Can’t wait until the IRB’s Oct. 30th presentation to get familiar with the Revised Common Rule, slated to take effect in January? An online 10-module course on the Revised Common Rule is now available through citiprogram.org. Even better – you can earn Certified Research Specialist credit for successfully completing it. The exact credit amount is […]

While we worry about things such as how biological samples and paper data collection sheets are labeled, the world of genetic accessibility marches on. Recent articles in The New York Times and the journal Science point out that publicly available genealogy databases now allow the identification of about 60 percent of Americans of Northern European […]

The Revised Common Rule will bring some largely welcome changes to the Exempt categories of research. In general, the language changes expand the type of research to which exempt status review will apply. As a reminder, “exempt” does not mean the same thing in research-land as it does in real life. An “exempt” study is […]

The Revised Common Rule (RCR), slated to go into effect Jan. 21, 2019, will bring some changes* to informed consent requirements. And that asterisk by “changes” is intentional, as the federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) has said that it may issue guidance regarding some RCR consent requirements. Well, here we are, a mere […]

The Revised Common Rule, slated to take effect Jan. 21, 2019, will bring some significant changes to our UAMS/ACH policies and procedures related to human subject research. Note that we can’t accuse the federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) of rushing through this rule-making process; this is the first major revision since the original […]

It’s great when your study results support your hypothesis. Less appreciated, but equally important  is when your study results show your hypothesis wasn’t correct. Researchers tend to be more enthusiastic about publishing the former than the latter, we’ve noticed. Here’s a New York Times piece that discusses the importance of letting the world know about […]

While the name “Brian Wansink” may not be immediately familiar, some of the research he’s known for probably is. Dr. Wansink’s research into how people make decisions about what and how much to eat gets a lot of play in the popular media. He’s one of those rock star scientists. At the end of the […]