UAMS Receives Accreditation for Standard of Human Research

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been awarded full accreditation for its human research subject protection program by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP).


 


UAMS is the only institution in Arkansas to achieve AAHRPP accreditation for its standards in conducting or reviewing research with human participants.


 


The AAHRPP accreditation program uses a voluntary, peer-driven, educational model to assess the university’s program via an in-depth self-study and an intensive three-day visit by a four-member site inspection team. The accreditation is valid for three years.


 


UAMS was among four organizations to receive accreditation by the AAHRPP Accreditation Council at its June meeting. The others were Children’s Hospital Boston; Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore; and University of Louisville, Ky.


 


“Once again UAMS is at the forefront of biomedical research in Arkansas,” said UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D. “We are extremely proud of the standards we have always held in protecting participants involved in research and we are pleased that our program has been recognized as outstanding along with other esteemed institutions.”


 


This program includes the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which reviews all research involving humans conducted at UAMS or by any of its faculty or employees, and the Office of Research Compliance, both units of UAMS’ Division of Academic Affairs and Research Administration.


 


The UAMS IRB also performs review for the Central Arkansas Veteran’s Healthcare System, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the Department of Health.


 


AAHRPP’s human research performance standards surpass the threshold of state and federal requirements. Accreditation by AAHRPP demonstrates that UAMS regards the safety of those participating in its numerous research studies paramount, and that despite an ever-larger research agenda by its researchers and physicians, UAMS has proven that everything possible is being done to ensure the safety of those who volunteer to participate.


 


UAMS is the state’s leading research institution, reporting more than $100 million last year in total sponsored research, including projects awarded to university faculty working at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.


 


In recent years, UAMS has experienced tremendous growth in both the number of research projects and in funding awarded, including increases in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the primary sponsor of medical research in the United States. Last year UAMS increased NIH funded research to more than $44 million and is projected to finish the current year at close to $60 million.


 


While a wide range of organizations — including contract research organizations, government agencies, hospitals, independent review boards, research institutes, site management organizations and universities — are eligible for accreditation, only 24 entities have been granted accreditation by AAHRPP. The complete list of AAHRPP-accredited organizations is available at www.aahrpp.org.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has more than 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees.


 


UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.