The Office of Research Subject Protection, Research Integrity and Corporate Ethics supports Roswell Park’s mission of eliminating cancer’s grip on humanity:
- Promoting and advancing a culture of corporate ethics that fosters ethical behavior – acting in ways consistent with one’s personal values and the values of Roswell Park.
- Advancing responsible and ethical research practices, to ensure that the rights, dignity and welfare of all research subjects are protected.
- Minimizing the risks associated with such endeavors in accordance with the Belmont Report and governing regulatory bodies, by providing oversight, education and monitoring.
- Advocating for research subjects, especially those who are vulnerable and/or susceptible to manipulation and exploitation.
- Fostering a culture of compliance oversight for protection of research subjects and enhancing protections for those in research studies.
Our office provides education for investigators, research and administrative staff, and board members including but not limited to:
- Human Subject Protection Training (Citi Course)
- Biosafety Training
- IRB Advisor
- Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
- Human Research Report
Reporting research concerns
Concerns related to research may be reported anonymously to the Office of Research Subject Protection.
Conflicts of interest
For Information regarding conflicts of interest contact Erika Bennett, Esq. at 716-845-8132.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies & resources
Roswell Park IRB policies and procedures are available on our intranet.
Single IRB review
The Single IRB (sIRB) mandate is a set of complementary federal policies that require certain types of federally funded studies that involve multiple institutions to use a single IRB to accomplish IRB review and approval for all the institutions.
The NIH Single IRB Policy and Common Rule Cooperative Research Requirement are the two policies that require the use of a Single IRB.
NIH Policy: Effective January 25, 2018: All competing NIH grant applications (new, renewal, revision or re-submission) for multi-site studies with NIH receipt dates on or after January 25, 2018.
- Applies to: Domestic sites of NIH funded studies where each site will conduct the same protocol involving non-exempt human subjects research, whether supported by grants, cooperative agreements contracts or the NIH Intramural Research Program. It does not apply to Foreign Sites, career development (K), research training (T) or fellowship awards (F) and current awards.
- Exceptions: VA sites; international sites; sites involving tribal nations.
Common Rule Requirement: Effective January 20, 2020: Federally funded projects, involving multiple research locations conducting human subjects research, with IRB approval dates on or after January 20, 2020, must use a sIRB. This is mandated by the Cooperative Research provision which expands upon and supersedes the NIH’s Single IRB policy.
- Applies to: All sites in the United States participating in a federally funded cooperative research study (involves more than one site).
- Exceptions: Cooperative research for which more than single IRB review is required by law (including tribal law passed by the official governing body of an American Indian or Alaska Native tribe); or Research for which any Federal department of agency supporting or conducting the research determines and documents that the use of a single IRB is not appropriate.
Single IRB may also be useful for multi-site/collaborative studies that are not federally funded but wish to use a Single IRB.
For more information regarding IRB Requirements for federally funded, multi-site/collaborative research, or IRB Reliance Agreements, please contact IRBReliance@RoswellPark.org or Leonard Caruana at 716-845-8769.
Participant education resources
The federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) offers a series of short videos with basic information about research.
Resources include:
- Becoming a Research Volunteer (English)
- Becoming a Research Volunteer (Spanish)
- Deciding Whether to Enroll in Gene Transfer Research?
- The Importance of Tissue Samples in Research
- The Treatment Development Process: The Role of Tissue
- What is Tissue? Why is it Important?
- Why is it Important For Me to Consider Donating my Tissue for Research?
Additional resources
Research terms and definitions:
- Abbreviations - Commonly used abbreviations related to research
- Glossary - Terms and definitions related to research
- Lay Terms - Commonly used terms for the informed consent document
- NCCN Informed Consent Language Database - Commonly used terms for the informed consent document
Key agencies and organizations:
- Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance documents
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- NIH Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Emerging Biotechnology Policy Division
- Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) regulations
- Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
- New York State Department of Health
Regulatory affairs
Our goal is to facilitate interactions with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support clinical investigations where FDA regulations are applicable. Staff from the Office of Research Subject Protection serve as liaisons with FDA and work in conjunction with investigators to prepare and submit required regulatory applications. We provide the following support to investigators:
- Regulatory guidance to help in developing regulatory strategies prior to and throughout the clinical investigation.
- Communication with the FDA which includes meetings and submissions.
- Assistance in the preparation, filing, and maintenance of all applicable regulatory documents required for Investigational New Drugs (IND), Investigational Device Exemptions (IDE), Investigational Tobacco Products (ITP) and Single Patient Expanded Access applications for submission to FDA.
Research Subject Protection committees
The Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center committees promote integrity and strive for clarity in the midst of what can be complex and confusing ethical situations, including the committees outlined below:
The Institute Biosafety Committee (IBC) is comprised of representatives from the scientific community, Radiation Safety, Environmental Safety, Employee Health Services, Comparative Oncology Shared Resources and community members who represent the views of the general public.
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Roswell Park is a convened group of physicians, scientists and members of the community dedicated to advancing responsible and ethical research practices and to ensure that the rights, dignity and welfare of human subjects are protected.
The Stem Cell Research Oversight (SCRO) Committee is comprised of members from Roswell Park, the University at Buffalo, and community members to represent the views of the general public to review and research applications requiring the use of human stem cells and provide education in the field of stem cell research and ethics.
Accreditation
Our office has received accreditation from:
Meet our team
Ericka Bennett
Vice President
Corporate Ethics, Research Integrity and Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-8132
Email: Ericka.Bennett@RoswellPark.org
Donald Handley
Senior Executive Director, Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-3455
Email: Donald.Handley@RoswellPark.org
Leonard Caruana
IRB Multisite Research, Compliance
Senior Research Subject Protection Administrator
Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-8769
Email: Leonard.Caruana@RoswellPark.org
Kelly Dewey
COI, IRB
Associate Director, Corporate Ethics
Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-4942
Email: Kelly.Dewey@RoswellPark.org
Linda Herter
IBC, SCRO, Grants
Senior Research Subject Protection Administrator
Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-8854
Email: Linda.Herter@RoswellPark.org
Debra Speidel
IRB
Senior Research Subject Protection Administrator
Research Subject Protection
Phone: 716-845-7676
Email: Debra.Speidel@RoswellPark.org
Pragya Srivastava
FDA
Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Phone: 716-845-4508
Email: Pragya.Srivastava@RoswellPark.org