When Lori Walker started her master\u2019s degree at Brock University more than a decade ago, she didn’t realize that her work would impact the professional standing of research ethics administrators nationwide.<\/p>\n
At the time, Walker, now manager of Research Ethics at the University, had just joined an organization called the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB).\u00a0As a new member juggling school and work, she was keen to investigate and standardize the patchwork of roles, responsibilities and professional identities of staff charged with ensuring the protection of people participating in research.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe field of research ethics administration wasn\u2019t formally recognized as a profession in itself,\u201d says Walker. \u201cOften, people were assigned to do the work off the side of their desk, or it was tacked onto another job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her research and subsequent advocacy efforts led the federal government\u2019s Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (SRCR)<\/a> to formally recognize research ethics administration as a profession and enable ethics administrators to take an active role in the research ethics review process.<\/p>\n \u201cResearch ethics administrators went from being the secretaries of Research Ethics Boards at universities to becoming the secretariat of these boards,\u201d says Rachel Zand, Director of Human Research Ethics at the University of Toronto\u2019s Human Research Ethics Unit and former CAREB President.<\/p>\n For this and other work, CAREB awarded Walker with the President’s Award for \u201coutstanding contribution and commitment to CAREB,\u00a0contributing significantly to the development and improvement of research ethics review and management\u00a0in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers planning to involve human participants in their research must apply to their institution\u2019s Research Ethics Board (REB) to show how they will manage potential risks to participants, including issues of privacy and confidentiality, free and informed consent, and data management.<\/p>\n When reviewing research, REBs apply the core principles of respect for persons, welfare and justice, derived from the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2)<\/a>.<\/p>\n All institutions that receive federal research funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research must be compliant with the TCPS2 guidelines that govern research ethics review.<\/p>\n Research ethics administrators play a key role in supporting REBs by interpreting research ethics policy and regulations, providing education and advice to researchers and REBs, and ensuring that institutions are compliant with federal guidelines.<\/p>\n