Friday, April 9, 2010

April 9

Here we are writing from a really hot Chapel Hill. In the last few days we have had a maximum of 30º Celsius – an atypical situation according to Chapel Hill citizens. The city is now surrounded by trees exhibiting flours that compound an amazing multicolor landscape. Everyone looks happier, walking until late in the evening in the roads with short clothes and enjoying the moment while appreciating the wonderful music played in the Campus… At night it’s amazing to sit down on the campus grass listening to the sound of a violin and a harmonic.

Surrounded by this magic environment we completed the IRB training in social and behavioral research. The Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) is a web-based training package on issues related to human subjects research. This training is required to all faculty, staff and students who are engaged in the planning, conduct or analysis of research at UNC-Chapel Hill that involves human subjects. UNC-Chapel Hill is committed to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct and regulatory compliance in research. The training available through CITI is a really new impulse to the increasement of the awareness level and to the understanding of these issues across our research. CITI contains modules on topics like informed consent, vulnerable populations, ethical principles and IRB regulations. Each module has a short quiz at the end to assess understanding. Modules have been grouped in (1) Biomedical Research, (2) Social and Behavioral Research, and (3) Research Involving Data and Specimens Only. You can access the CITI website by following the link www.citiprogram.org

It was in fact a very enriching experience that we strongly recommend to everyone.

Greetings from a warm land,

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