For Immediate Release March 17, 2005

For More Information Contact: Diane Brown, 317-274-7711 habrown@iupui.edu

IUPUI Earns Accreditation for Human Research Protection Program

INDIANAPOLIS - The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP) has awarded IUPUI qualified accreditation for its program that protects people who participate in research studies on the campus, officials announced Tuesday (March 14).

AAHRPP provides voluntary accreditation to organizations that conduct or review research with human participants, using a process based on self-assessment, peer review and education. The minimum requirement for AAHRPP accreditation is full compliance with all appropriate federal regulations.

Earning the accreditation is a tangible demonstration to the public that IUPUI makes protection of research participants a top priority, and one for which the entire university takes responsibility, accrediting officials say.

IUPUI joins 19 other organizations who have received accreditation for their human research protection programs. Other AAHRPP-accredited organizations include Baylor Research Institute of Dallas, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Accreditation should make IUPUI research projects more attractive to sponsors in that it shows regulatory agencies that the campus maintains high ethical standards and is committed to self-regulation, according to IUPUI Vice Chancellor for Research Mark Brenner.

"The AAHRPP accreditation process adds value to our human research protection program and to our ability to conduct ethically sound research," Brenner said.

IUPUI earned Qualified AAHRPP Accreditation, meaning that the human protection program is in full regulatory compliance, but some minor administrative issues need to be addressed.

The university anticipates being able to address those issues and earn full accreditation in June, when the AAHRPP Council on Accreditation holds its next meeting, Brenner said.

Using AAHRPP's Accreditation Standards as a guide, IUPUI completed an extensive self-assessment as part of the accreditation process.

"The reality is we have one of the most complicated organizations, when you consider all the hospitals and community health organizations associated with IUPUI, along with the Veteran's Administration and the Lilly Clinic," Brenner said.

Every facet of the human research protection program had to be described, including policies and procedures, staff expertise, and resources.

After AAHRPP reviewed the self-assessment, a site visit was scheduled. At the conclusion of the visit, an informative exit interview provided an overview of the site visitors' findings, which were elaborated upon in the official site visit report. AAHRPP's Council on Accreditation then reviewed the final site visit report and made a determination about accreditation status. ###