IRB Bulletin: News from the IRB Office (January 2023)

Happy New Year!

As a part of the Northwestern University IRB Office’s initiative to share timely resources and information with the research community, the IRB Bulletin is released at the beginning of each month and contains relevant updates from the IRB office.  The IRB Bulletin is also posted monthly on the IRB News & Announcements webpage. Please keep reading for this month’s updates.    

IRB Office Annual Open House 

Thank you to all who joined us for our Annual Winter Open House on December 14. We had a full house and wonderful time with all the festivities! A special congratulations to our winning Jeopardy team and those who took home raffle prizes. We sincerely enjoyed celebrating the season and welcoming in 2023 with you. Sending wishes of happiness and health to you and yours!  

Upcoming IRB Brown Bag: Ask the IRB 

On January 18, we will be hosting an installment of our frequently requested Ask the IRB! panel session. Information on this IRB Brown Bag event is posted on Planit Purple and an email invitation will be sent to the IRB Listserv next week. You are invited to REGISTER and submit your questions now to secure your spot at the top of our discussion list. We look forward to another informative and engaging session! 

Staff Announcements 

We are pleased to share the following IRB Office staff announcements:  

Laura Loeb, PhD, CIP joins as an IRB Analyst with the Social and Behavioral Research IRB Team.  Laura brings enthusiasm and human research experience, both in conducting research and with human research protections.  Laura was previously a Compliance Specialist at Loyola University Chicago, and prior to that, she was a Research Compliance Manager at the University of Virginia SBS IRB.  Before UVA, Laura was on the other side of the process as a social behavioral researcher at UCLA.  Laura has excellent experience in teaching and collaborating with faculty and students, as well as presenting and publishing.  As a member of the Social and Behavioral IRB Office Team, Laura will serve a key role in the NU HRPP by conducting IRB reviews and providing education to the research community and IRB members. 

Brittanē Foy joins as a Senior IRB Compliance Analyst. Brittanē brings a wealth of human research protections and compliance experience. Most recently, Brittanē supported the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill research community, serving as an IRB analyst. She was responsible for conducting pre-review and facilitating full board meetings. Previously, Brittanē worked with General Dynamic Health Solutions to ensure compliance with Department of Defense (DoD) and United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) regulations and with Indiana University, monitoring IRB Office reviews and providing follow-on training. As a member of the Compliance and Education Team, Brittanē will have a key role in our institution’s HRPP by serving as a point person for directed reviews and other compliance activities, providing support to the research community to ensure compliance. 

Rita Knasel, MS joins us as an IRB Reliance Analyst. Previously she supported research at Lehigh University studying stereotypes and social interactions. There she collaborated with investigators at external institutions, designed and piloted research surveys, prepared documents for IRB review, and conducted statistical analyses on large data sets. She played a key role in training new research team members and ensuring the lab’s multiple projects were on-track too. At Lehigh University she also held various educational roles in the Psychology Department. She taught recitations, managed course examinations, facilitating grading, and gave guest lectures.  As a member of the Reliance Team, Rita will assist the Northwestern research community in maintaining compliance with institutional policies and federal regulations surrounding reliance, while also serving as a liaison for all key stakeholders. 

Sincerely, 

Northwestern University IRB Office 

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