News Release

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina’s campuses – large and small, public and private – are conducting research involving human subjects. Now, 25 of them have come together to enhance their knowledge and share experiences in order to ensure that such research is done at the highest levels and using the safest methods.

Established in fall 2004, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-based N.C. Consortium for Human Subjects Protection is made up of 25 of the state’s colleges and universities that conduct research with human subjects. It promotes best practices in human research subject protection throughout the state.

The consortium was created through a National Institutes of Health grant of $500,000 to Dr. Robert P. Lowman, associate vice chancellor for research at UNC and the grant’s principal investigator. The grant period began in September 2002 and ends this August.

Federal regulations regarding the conduct of research with human subjects are lengthy and complex, Lowman said. Many smaller colleges and universities do not have the funds to allow them to participate in national training events.

To help alleviate this inequity, the consortium is hosting several regional conferences statewide. The conferences ensure that anyone involved in research with human subjects can receive the most up-to-date training.

The first was held in February at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. The next one was held in March at Fayetteville State University, with two more scheduled for Friday (April 8) at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and May 10 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, respectively. The Asheville conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. in room 104 of the Highsmith Center.

Each conference is designed for members of institutional review boards and staff who support the members. Topics to be addressed include: the interplay of ethics, science and the law; roles of scientists, community members and advocates; and the process of informed consent.

"Without human research volunteers, advances in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing and the behavioral and social sciences will grind to a halt," Lowman said. "The human research volunteer is essential to the advancement of many scientific projects.

"Before we can ask anyone to be a volunteer, however, we have an ethical obligation to be sure they receive the highest possible level of protection while taking part in research."

For more information on the consortium, contact Lowman at (919) 962-0656, (919) 619-7864 (day of the event) or lowman@unc.edu.

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News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu