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Introducing Our Newest AAHRPP Ambassadors

 

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of the AAHRPP site visitor team. As HRPP leaders at accredited organizations, all four have experienced the value of AAHRPP accreditation firsthand. All share the flexible, supportive approach that makes our 60+ site visitors some of AAHRPP’s most effective ambassadors. 

Swapnali Chaudhari, MBBS, MS, CRC/CRA, Director, IRB and HRPP, Rutgers University (accredited since 2022). For Swapnali, being a site visitor is a way to pay it forward after Rutgers’ positive accreditation experience. “We learned a lot because that’s what AAHRPP’s goal is,” she says. As a site visitor, Swapnali will “help others realize many of the same benefits that we did.” 

Tiffany Coleman, MS, MPH, CIP, Director, IRB Office, Augusta University (accredited since 2008). Augusta University’s next AAHRPP reaccreditation will be Tiffany’s first as Director of the HRPP. Although she’s well-versed in AAHRPP standards, Tiffany sees advantages to “gaining a broader view of what other institutions do” while sharing her experience with others. 

Katie Sellers, MBA, CIP, Director, HRPP, East Tennessee State University (accredited since 2005). With more than a decade of experience in positions of increasing responsibility in three AAHRPP-accredited organizations, Katie brings an invaluable perspective on different ways to meet the same standards. 

Vanessa Smith, MPSc, CIP, CIM, Associate Director, HRPP, The Rockefeller University (accredited since 2011). Vanessa appreciates the work involved in attaining accreditation and, even more, “the dedication it takes to maintain HRPPs of the highest standards to support the conduct of ethical research and safeguard participants.” For her, serving as a site visitor is a way “to give back and make a meaningful contribution to the research community.” 

In addition to sharing their expertise, all four site visitors look forward to discovering and sharing innovative practices with their colleagues across the research enterprise. As Swapnali says, “I’m all for innovation. There’s always room for growth.”