MSU research assistance web site featured at national meeting

Contact: Maridith Geuder

A national policy organization is giving some major visibility to a Mississippi State web site dedicated to research issues.

At a recent meeting of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, the university institutional review board's www.msstate.edu/dept/spa/regcompliance/irb.html was among six sites praised for content and convenience.

Founded in 1974 and based in Boston, Mass., Public Responsibility provides forums for addressing issues about the ethical, legal and policy dimensions of biomedical research and clinical practice. Its affiliate, the Applied Research Ethics National Association, represents professionals concerned with the protection of human subjects, humane care and treatment of animals, ethical decision-making in health care, and other ethical issues in biomedical and behavioral research.

Other acclaimed sites at the organization's 2000 meeting included Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa., State University of New York at Stony Brook, Medical College of Ohio, University of Washington, and Intermountain Health Care of Salt Lake City, Utah.

The MSU Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects is appointed by the vice president for research. The board's mission is to ensure that all campus-based research complies with ethical standards, federal regulations and university policies.

Developed by the Office of Sponsored Programs, the web site includes institutional policies and procedures, training programs and registration, and tips on a wide range of issues, among other topics. Users also may link to a variety of national agency resources.

"It is a comprehensive resource about compliance and training that provides current, detailed information to the university research community," said regulatory compliance administrator Tracy Arwood, who maintains the site.

Mississippi State is ranked 59th among public universities in science and engineering research, according to the National Science Foundation.