Jim & Pam,

I do not think that a Sponsored Programs Officer should chair his/her
assurance committee.  There is no reason in my mind, however why they could
not be a member of the committee.  I, however, would prefer that they be
non-voting members.  But whether they be voting or non-voting members should
be at the discretion of the institution.

Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: James R. Brett [mailto:xxxxxx@CSULB.EDU]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 11:41 AM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] IRB Chairperson

Pam,

There is an inherent conflict of interest between those promoting research
and those governing it with respect to compliance issues.  The conflict is
between the profit to and advancement of the institution versus the rights
of individuals and general ethics on the other hand.

Since all employees of an institution are generally considered to be loyal
to and individually responsible for the advancement of their institution,
all employees are conflicted to one degree or another.  The real question is
the extent of the conflict and the natural remedies and precautions the
institution has in place to ameliorate or moot the conflicts.  In cases
where Chancellors, Presidents, Research VPs, and the like
have lost their jobs over these issues, the lack of remedies and precautions
has been systemic.

You will hear that one university or another has been cited for failure to
maintain the separation, but it is rarely this issue alone that results in a
citation, suspension, or closure.  Usually, the situation has run aground in
some other way and the conflict blunted the ability of the institution to
respond appropriately.

Ultimately, the OHSP (for Human Subjects problems) will refer to the
Institutional Assurance signed by the senior management of the institution
as the governing documentation.  These Assurances are quite simple and
direct and they refer to the whole body of regulation and common sense on
the issues.

Jim

Pam FILLMORE wrote:

> Greetings.  I have heard it said at several workshops at NCURA that an
individual involved with the Research/Sponsored Program Office cannot act as
Chair of the institution's IRB because this poses a conflict of interest. I
cannot, however, find this issue addressed specifically in the documents at
the DHHS, OHRP site. Does anyone have any insight into this issue, or can
you direct me to a document that spells this out?
>
> Pam Fillmore
> Research and Grants Center
> Emporia State University
> phone 316-341-5351
> fax 316-341-5909
> xxxxxx@emporia.edu
>
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--
James R. Brett, Ph.D., Director,
Office of University Research
California State University, Long Beach
562-985-5314  562-985-8665 fax
http://www.ur.csulb.edu

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 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
 via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
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