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Clinical Research News You Can Use Winter 2008
   

Faces In The Crowd


Deanne Hernandez
Director of Operations, Office of Research
Deanne Hernandez is the newest addition to the Office of Research following Susan Fernandez’s retirement last month. A twelve-year employee of the health science center, Deanne most recently managed the institution’s strategic planning effort and various state reporting requirements. As Director of Research Operations, Deanne is responsible for the coordination and administration of the office’s operational affairs including human resources, information systems, planning, compliance, and training. She is thrilled to join the team and looks forward to finding new ways to support and assist the health science center’s research faculty and staff.
 
Sujatha Sridhar
Special Advisor for Executive Vice President of Research for HumanSubjects  Research
 

The Office of Research would like to welcome Sujatha Sridhar to UTHSC-Houston as she oversees and leads us to full accreditation with the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Program.  We are grateful for her role in this very important step for research at UTHSC-Houston.

 

Q. What is your title?

A. Special Advisor to Executive Vice President of Research for Human Subjects Research

 

Q. Do you have any background working with research involving human subjects?

A. I have over 10 yrs of background working with research involving human subjects, including study coordinator and IRB staff. In my previous job, I led the team to a successful AAHRP accreditation.

 

Q. What are your biggest challenges with overseeing the AAHRPP accreditation?

A. There are several challenges, the biggest is the fact that there are so many different groups of people and several sets of policies and procedures that are associated with human subjects research, it is a huge challenge to bring them all together towards this common effort.

 

Q. What should those involved in research at UTHSC-H be aware of as to their role in the process?

A. Research nurses and coordinators are the heart and soul of a research study. They are also the individuals with closest interaction to the research participants. It would be important for them to be very familiar with their research protocol and their responsibilities. They should ensure that their research project is in compliance. It is also important for the research nurses and coordinators to share UT’s enthusiasm for research and research subject protections by being familiar with the CPHS requirements, with the Belmont Report and the principles of Good Clinical Practice.

 

Q. How will someone know if they are to be interviewed by the accreditation team?

A. AAHRPP will give UT the list of people to be interviewed about 4 – 6 weeks before the Site Visit. We will have lots of material and intensive training sessions to help the selected individuals prepare for the interview.

 

Q. What is the timeline for accreditation?

A. Hopefully by late summer and there will be a massive outreach effort to ensure everyone involved is aware.