UBC CREB Retreat - October 29, 2013
Harmonization/Reciprocity Agreements/BCEHI Education and Best Practices (Patricia Tait/Laurel Evans/Stefanie Cheah)
Harmonization (Patricia Tait, MSc, Director, B.C. Ethics Harmonization Initiative)
Presenter Bio: Patricia Tait was appointed as the Director of the BC Ethics Harmonization Initiative in January 2012. Previously she worked at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI), the research arm of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH), holding various positions in her 8+ years in the VCHRI administration office. In her most recent position as Manager, HR, Policy and Planning, she was responsible for the Internal Grants and Awards Program, Institute funding metrics, and the HR portfolio, as well as taking lead roles in policy and planning activities.
From 2006-8 she was Project Lead on an initiative within VCH regarding the screening and review of research and non-research projects, and remained the VCH contact person for research ethics initiatives for the remainder of her time at VCHRI. During this time she was also part of the planning committee and a speaker for the Alberta Research Ethics Community Consensus Initiative’s 2008 national conference. She has a Master of Science degree in Public Health Sciences and spent many years working in community support and public health environments before moving into research administration.
Reciprocity Agreements (Laurel Evans, BA, LL.B. Director, Research Ethics UBC)
Presenter Bio: Laurel Evans was appointed Associate Director of Research Ethics at the University of British Columbia in April, 2007 and became Director in 2011. Laurel oversees the operations of the human research protections program of the University and its affiliated hospitals. Her prior experience includes three years at McMaster University in a combined role of Sr. Ethics Advisor and Legal Counsel – Clinical Trials, and almost two years with St. Michael’s Hospital where she had responsibility for contract review and special projects. Laurel was the legal representative on the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board and an adjunct professor at McMaster where she taught health law, policy and ethics in the Health Studies and Health Sciences programs. She is a past President of the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards and is currently lead contact for BC Ethics Harmonization Initiative, an initiative of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.
BCEHI Education and Best Practices (Stefanie Cheah)
Presenter Bio: Stefanie Cheah is the Project Coordinator for the University of British Columbia Office of Biobank Education and Research (OBER). Recently she has been involved with coordinating "permission to contact" processes in clinics that encourages patients to participate in research and has been involved in the development of the education content and program materials for the Biobank Certification Program. Stefanie brings over five years' experience in the laboratory setting specializing in the areas of molecular biology, immunology and biochemistry. In addition, Stefanie has pursued her M.Sc. in Experimental Medicine and education in project management.
Biobanking in B.C. (Peter Watson)
Presenter Bio: Dr. Peter Watson is Director of the Tumor Tissue Repository Program at the BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in British Columbia. He also holds appointments as the Chief Physician Vancouver Island Centre, Senior Scientist and a Professor of Pathology, University of British Columbia, and academic positions at the University of Victoria and University of Manitoba. He completed his medical training at the University of Cambridge and St Thomas's Hospital London, UK in 1983 and specialist training in Anatomic Pathology at the University of Manitoba in 1988. After fellowship training he established a career as a clinician scientist in 1993 at the University of Manitoba, and since 2005 at the BC Cancer Agency. He currently combines a clinical practice as a breast pathologist with research interests in the molecular pathology of breast and ovarian cancer, and in the discipline of biobanking. His research program focuses on biomarkers of breast tumour progression and response to therapies. This work has included the discovery, validation, elucidation of the mechanism of action, and exploration of the therapeutic potential of the S100A7 gene in breast cancer. This research has led to publication of over 150 scientific research papers. He has also lead provincial and national biobanking initiatives to advance translational cancer research. In addition, Dr. Watson serves on the executive of the Canadian Tumour Repository Network (CTRNet) he is currently the director of the University of British Columbia, Department of Pathology Office of Biobank Education and Research, co-leads the Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank and serves on the executive of the Marble Arch International Working Group for Biobanking.
Incidental Findings in Genetic Research (Alice Virani)
Presenter Bio: Alice is a clinical ethicist at the Provincial Health Service Authority and based at Children’s and Women’s Hospital. She currently serves as the Ethicist on the Children’s and Women’s REB, and has also been the ethicist for the BC Cancer Agency REB and the UBC Behavioural REB. Before moving into ethics, Alice was a genetic counselor at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. She has a masters in Human Sciences from Oxford University, a masters in Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College, a masters in Public Health from Columbia University, and a PhD in Genetics and Ethics at UBC. She teaches a graduate seminar at UBC in genetics and ethics and her research interests relate to the many ethical issues inherent with in clinical practice and research in genetic and genomic medicine.
Literacy in Health Research (Leona Gadsby)
Presenter Bio: Leona has worked in the field of adult literacy since 1978. She has worked with schools, post-secondary institutions, federal and provincial governments, communities and non-profit organizations to support literacy development for people of all ages. She was the co-founder and executive director of the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy, which was recognized for its achievements in literacy with the first annual Council of the Federation Literacy Award. As the Director of Programs and Services for BC’s provincial literacy organization, Leona provides leadership to various aspects of literacy programming, accountability measures, professional and resource development, and to the provincial network of community literacy groups.
- Bulleted list item
TCPS2 Proposed Changes (John Russell)
Presenter Bio: John Russell, Ph.D., teaches philosophy at Langara College where he is former chair of the philosophy department and currently chairs the Langara College Research Ethics Board. He has been ethicist on the UBC Clinical Research Ethics Board since 2001. He publishes in philosophy of law and political philosophy and for the past several years has been editor of the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport. He has been named Warren Fraleigh Distinguished Scholar for 2013-2014 by the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport.
LUNCH