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A Call to Reimagine Research Protections

 

Every AAHRPP conference seeks to strengthen and advance the research enterprise by tackling common issues, sharing tips and information, and fostering a collegial community. This year, AAHRPP not only continues this tradition but also takes it a step further with a plenary discussion that urges conference attendees to seize the moment to help shape the future of research protections.

The third plenary of the 2026 AAHRPP Annual Conference, “A Call to Action: Reimagining the Future of Human Research Protections,” recognizes the recent disruptions to the research enterprise and the resulting concern, anger, and dismay. As its title suggests, the plenary also will make a compelling case that it’s time to move beyond that recognition to action.

“This session invites the community to come together, acknowledge the challenges honestly, and begin shaping a shared strategy for the future,” AAHRPP Executive Vice President Michelle Feige, MSW,LCSW-C, says. “Not because it is easy, but because it is necessary—and because no one organization can do it alone.”

Michelle will be joined by plenary presenters Molly Klote, MD, President & CEO, Klote Medical Research Advisors, and former Director of the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP); Martha Jones, MA, CIP, Vice President, Human Research Affairs, Mass General Brigham and AAHRPP Council on Accreditation member; and Alison Barr, Institution Liaison Manager, Bellberry Limited of Australia.

Together they will cover the history and evolution of research protections and urge attendees to view the current uncertainty as an opportunity to further the progress in research protections since the adoption of the Common Rule and the founding of AAHRPP. One of the most significant achievements since then has been the shift away from an IRB-centered model of protections to one built around a comprehensive HRPP. Today, virtually every young professional enters the field with an HRPP mindset.

Plenary presenters will ask attendees to consider whether it’s time for another fundamental shift in the approach to research protections, including the way we work with researchers, protect and involve participants, and engage the public.

“There’s a tremendous void in this space because of all the changes,” Martha says, “but we have to see that as an extraordinary opportunity—to look at where we are and figure out where we want to go and how to get there.”

“It will take some introspection, a lot of asking why, a willingness to challenge what we’ve done before and, most of all, to change,” she adds. “Maybe we should take a lesson from the researchers we support. They’re always looking for the next best way to solve a problem.”

Among the questions plenary attendees can expect to consider: 

  • What is the role of the regulatory infrastructure in an environment that’s being tested in unprecedented ways?”
  • Where can organizations turn for the guidance previously provided by federal agencies and departments?
  • What is the role of accreditation in this new reality?
  • How much can an already burdened community take on?

Although there are no easy answers, presenters are confident they’re seeking solutions in the right place.

“This session recognizes the extraordinary knowledge, generosity, and commitment of the community that created AAHRPP 25 years ago,” Michelle says. The plenary “will revisit the shared history of professional societies, accrediting bodies, and advocacy organizations that helped launch the human research protections movement. Together we will consider how collective resources, expertise, and trust might once again be aligned toward common goals.”

Attendees will be invited to continue the discussion after the plenary during a deep-dive session. The goal, Michelle says, is to move “from silos to synergy and beyond diagnosis to possibility.”

 

The “Call to Action: Reimagining the Future of Human Research Protections” plenary will be held Wednesday, May 20 from 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. The deep-dive session will follow at 2:45 p.m.