About the PHRC
The Partners Human Research Committee (PHRC) is the Institutional
Review Board (IRB) of Partners Research Management. The
PHRC must approve all human-subject
research conducted by a Partners-affiliated investigator.
Human-subject research is a systematic investigation designed
to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge where
an investigator obtains data on individuals either through
direct intervention/interaction or through the use of
identifiable private information (medical records) or
specimens. Research limited to the use of non-identifiable
patient information may qualify for exemption from full
IRB review, however all exemptions must be determined
or granted by the Human Research Office.
Elizabeth
L. Hohmann, M.D. is Chair and Director of the Partners
Human Research Committee. She is a member of both
MGH and BWH panels of the Human Research Committees and
is responsible for direction and oversight of scientific
and medical policies and operations of the IRB processes
at the Partners institutions. Dr. Hohmann is an infectious
disease specialist at MGH and has research interests in
Salmonella, Listeria, and clinical studies of live attenuated
bacterial vaccines and vectors.
Melissa
Abraham, Ph.D., M.S. is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Dr.
Abraham is a clinical psychologist on faculty in the Department
of Psychiatry and the Institute for Health Policy at MGH.
She received an M.S. in Epidemiology from the Harvard
School of Public Health, and completed a fellowship in
Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Abraham
is interested in applied research ethics and ethical issues
in mental health research.
Diane
L. Carroll, RN, Ph.D. is a Chair the Partners Human Research Committee.
Involved
with clinical research since the 1970s, Dr. Diane Carroll
completed a diploma in Nursing at the MGH School of Nursing
and a BSN from Boston College. She has had positions in
the MGH as a staff nurse and research nurse, and currently
is a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Dr. Carroll received her
PhD in Nursing from Boston College and was the Yvonne
Munn post-doctoral fellow within Patient Care Services
at the MGH in 2002. She is a Visiting Scholar to Boston
College where she teaches research methods on the graduate
level. Her current NIH-funded research has a focus on
interventions to reduce vulnerability in older adults
with a variety of cardiovascular diseases.
Melissa
Frumin, M.D., M.S. is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. She is a neuropsychiatrist
in the Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
at BWH. Dr. Frumin specializes in the psychiatric sequelae
of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dementia, mental retardation
and other neurological disorders. She has research interests
in the early identification of psychosis in adolescents
and young adults.
Allan
Goldstein, M.D. is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. He completed
his undergraduate education at Yale and then attended
Harvard Medical School where he obtained his M.D. degree
in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
(HST). He completed his residency in general surgery at
MGH and then moved to New York for a pediatric surgery
fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He
returned to Boston in 2002 and is currently on staff in
the Division of Pediatric Surgery. His research and clinical
focus are on the development of the enteric nervous system
and the management of children with intestinal dysmotility.
Marc Kaufman, PhD is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Dr. Kaufman has expertise in pharmacology, magnetic resonance imaging, and therapeutic drug development. He is Director of the Translational Imaging Laboratory at McLean Hospital.
Steven
L. McAffee, M.D. is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee.
Megan Morash, RN, BSN, MEd. is a Chair of the
Partners Human Research Committee. Ms. Morash has extensive experience in conducting, organizing, developing, and overseeing the full spectrum of clinical research. Her interests include educational development and innovative methods to provide continuing education to healthcare professionals.
Judith
M. Scheer, S.M., R.N. is Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Ms.
Scheer has greater than 25 years experience as a research
nurse, project manager, and educator in clinical research.
Her interests include education and public awareness/perception
of clinical research.
Julian
L. Seifter, M.D. is Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Dr.
Seifter is a nephrologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital
and director of the Training Programs in Nephrology. He
has clinical and research interests in renal failure and
diabetes, and is Director of the Renal Stone Clinic. Dr.
Seifter is also Director of Physiology and Pathophysiology
courses at Harvard Medical School.
A. Robert Schleipman, CNMT, MHSA, MSc, is a Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Previously a long-time member of the Radiology Department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he is also a member of BWH IRB Panel B and the Committee on Human Studies at Harvard Medical School. His training includes biology and nuclear medicine technology, and graduate degrees in both health care administration and clinical investigation. Robert has been an adjunct faculty member at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences and the MGH Institute of Health Professions. He is currently attending the Law and Public Policy Program at Northeastern University, specializing in health policy.
Benjamin Silverman, M.D. is Chair of the Partners Human Research Committee. Dr. Silverman graduated from college and medical school at the Johns Hopkins University and subsequently completed his psychiatry residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency Training program. Dr. Silverman obtained sub-specialty training by completing fellowship training in addiction psychiatry through the Partners HealthCare System (McLean Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital), as well as fellowship training with the Division of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Silverman is interested in the ethical dilemmas that emerging information technologies, such as the Internet, present to clinicians, as well as ethical issues in mental health research.
David
B. Smith M.D. is a Chair of the Partners
Human Research Committee. Dr. Smith has been affiliated
with Massachusetts General Hospital for 20 years. He has
expertise in breast cancer, benign and malignant hematology
and palliative care. Dr. Smith works at the Gillette Center
for Women's Cancers and the General Hematology/Oncology
Clinic at MGH.
Lawrence
C. Tsen, MD is a Chair of the Partners
Human Research Committee. Dr. Lawrence Tsen completed
his undergraduate and medical school training at Kansas
State University and the University of Kansas, respectively.
Following his internship, residency, and chief residency
years in Chicago at Michael Reese Hospital, Dr. Tsen moved
to Boston for an obstetric anesthesia fellowship at BWH.
Currently an Associate Professor in Anesthesia at HMS
and the Director of Anesthesia for Assisted Reproductive
Technologies (ART), BWH, Dr. Tsen's research and clinical
interests focus on the pharmacologic and physiologic implications
of ART-induced hormonal changes and the impact of anesthetic
and analgesic agents throughout pregnancy.
Stephen
J. Vacirca, M.D. is a Chair of the
Partners Human Research Committee. Dr. Vacirca is a diagnostic radiologist. He completed residency and fellowship programs at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.
|