Welcome to the OHRP Research Community Forum, hosted by Oakland University and Beaumont Health System at the Oakland Center in Rochester, MI.  It is an honor to be able to bring together experts from the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and other federal agencies, as well as experienced IRB members, administrators and researchers to talk about “Strategies for Optimizing the Protection of Human Research Participants.”  The members of the Conference Steering Committee extend a warm welcome and their best wishes for a rewarding day among colleagues in this critically important area of research ethics.

The main objective of this forum is to examine the range of considerations that each institution, IRB and members of the research community must make in order to ensure the optimal protections for people who generously agree to participate in research studies.  We anticipate that the unique mix of federal officials, IRB experts, researchers and staff will encourage a synergy of ideas and viewpoints that will leave us all with a fresh commitment to the ethical conduct of human research studies.  A secondary objective is to provide a means of networking with the research community at multiple levels, in small and large groups, and in a variety of learning contexts.  We start with a keynote address from Dr. Joseph Gibbons on the crucial role of the principal investigator in human research protection programs.  The plenary session will feature Elyse Summers JD, director of OHRP’s Division of Education and Development, who will provide an overview of OHRP guidance and activities.  Twelve breakout sessions during the day cover a wide range of topics from which to choose.  The “Ask the Feds” panel will wrap up the conference proceedings, and then we invite you to “meet and mingle” as you end your exciting day.

We extend our gratitude to our speakers, and to the dedicated team members whose efforts made this forum possible.  We are also indebted to Dr. Susan Awbrey, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of Oakland University, for her support of this initiative. We are especially grateful to OHRP for sponsoring this unique program, and providing the opportunity for all of us to meet and renew our commitment to human research protections.  We look forward to meeting all of you, and hope you enjoy your experience.

Sincerely,