Staff Announcements: July 2022
Elizabeth (Liz) Barajas, IRB Analyst, Biomedical
We are pleased to welcome Elizabeth (Liz) Barajas to the IRB Office as an IRB Analyst.
Liz holds an Associates in applied science (AAS) for medical assisting, and is coming from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Office at Northwestern where she has worked as Coordinator since 2017. There she excelled in providing detailed reviews of protocols, supported committee meetings, and provided guidance to the research community. Prior to that, Liz worked for several years at the Center for Comparative Medicine at Northwestern ensuring accurate accounting and records for animal research. She is a very enthusiastic and dedicated team player and will no doubt prove to be an outstanding addition to our team.
We are very excited to have Liz join the IRB Office, please join us in welcoming Liz!
Alec Henderson, IRB Compliance Manager, Compliance and Education
We are pleased to announce that Alec Henderson will assume the role of IRB Compliance Manager.
Alec has been a well-regarded member of the IRB Office since joining the Biomedical team in 2017. Alec is a Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) professional with certifications as an Institutional Review Board Professional (CIP) and in Healthcare Research Compliance (CHRC). In 2018, Alec joined the Compliance Team as a Senior IRB Compliance Analyst where he managed the IRB Office’s first Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) reaccreditation, developed an electronic submission system and workflow for evaluating Single IRB requests for federal funding proposals, and managed the IRB Office’s suite of 300+ tools.
As a member of the IRB Office leadership team, Alec will work closely with colleagues to support the mission of Northwestern University’s HRPP and share in the responsibility for the success of the IRB Office in accomplishing strategic goals. Alec’s responsibilities will include the design, implementation, and management of an effective Post Approval Monitoring program for both internal and external IRB-approved research; he will serve as a liaison with both federal regulatory agencies and our internal and external parties on IRB compliance-related matters, and he will continue to support and develop the compliance and education unit and its members as the unit expands.
Please join us in congratulating Alec!
Lucas Sikorski, IRB Manager, Biomedical
We are pleased to announce that Lucas Sikorski will assume the role of IRB Biomedical Manager.
Lucas brings a wealth of IRB and institutional knowledge to this position. Lucas obtained his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been a valued employee of Northwestern for about 18 years. He first joined the IRB Office in 2004. In 2006 he was appointed IRB Coordinator and in 2011 to Senior IRB Analyst. In these roles he ensured that research involving human subjects was reviewed and approved in compliance with federal regulations and state laws and he was responsible for the operation of IRB Panel A. In December 2019, Lucas was promoted to Biomedical Lead Analyst, and joined the IRB Office leadership team. In that role, he served as the primary resource for regulatory and procedural guidance for the Biomedical IRB staff and IRB members. He was also responsible for supervising Biomedical IRB Analysts, ensuring consistency of IRB panel reviews, and assisting in the training and education of new Biomedical IRB staff.
As Biomedical IRB Manager, Lucas will oversee and support a team of 11 Biomedical staff members, manage submission workflow, and work with IRB Office leadership on process improvements.
Please join us in congratulating Lucas!