From the President and CEO

Steadfast in our commitment to research quality and protections

In just a few weeks, we will come together for the 2025 AAHRPP Annual Conference: HRPP Dedication, Dialogue, and Discovery in Denver. As usual, the conference will feature fascinating workshops, plenaries, and breakout sessions along with opportunities to connect with and learn from colleagues. Equally, if not more important, the conference will provide a powerful reminder that the work we are all engaged in has never been more critical—and that it will continue.

That’s why our 2025 AAHRPP Annual Conference includes sessions on conducting research in the current environment and on balancing the promise and pitfalls of technological advances, such as AI and data sharing. We will discuss strategies and best practices in our Collaborative AAHRPP Network Workshop (CAN) and, in our Accreditation Workshop, will help not-yet-accredited organizations (and those coming up on reaccreditation) that are working toward earning or maintaining the AAHRPP “gold seal.”

As always, AAHRPP will foster collaboration among research organizations large and small, domestic and international. We will support one another, celebrate our successes, and move forward on our path of continuous improvement.

 Above all, we will stand firm in what has long united the research community: our unwavering commitment to advancing high-quality ethical research and protecting the participants who make that research possible.

 In keeping with that commitment, earlier this month AAHRPP joined our colleagues—The Consortium to Advance Effective Research Ethics Oversight (AEREO), Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research (PRIM&R), and Consortium for Applied Research Ethics Quality (CARE-Q)—in issuing a statement urging the federal administration “to protect and restore OHRP (the Office for Human Research Protections) against the loss of expert leadership and to provide the resources necessary to ensure public safety and a trustworthy human research enterprise.”

 We will continue to monitor the ever-changing environment and keep you informed of any action we take going forward. At the same time, I want to emphasize that we remain focused on continuing to serve you and the community that relies on AAHRPP as a resource and for leadership, guidance, and support.

 Along those lines, I am pleased to share that, with the pandemic behind us, AAHRPP has resumed in-person site visits for initial accreditations, where possible, and for those who wish to avail themselves of this option. We also are once again traveling to international conferences and educational events. We appreciate what virtual platforms made possible during the pandemic and will continue to use them, including as an option for our upcoming conference. However, as we’ve learned all too well, sometimes there’s no substitute for being together, in the same place as colleagues and friends.

We’ve heard from so many of you who are looking forward to joining us in Denver, May 20-22—in part because of the timely topics on the agenda but also to explore opportunities to partner with U.S. and international organizations and to catch up with colleagues. If you haven’t registered yet, I encourage you to do your best to attend. I promise you will leave better informed, more connected, and energized for what’s to come.

 Hope to see you there!

 Best,

Elyse I. Summers, JD

AAHRPP President and CEO