Past Events

Below is a list of recent OHRP events. If you have any questions, please email OHRP-EDU@hhs.gov.

2025

• Sept 18 & 25

  Sickle Cell Disease and Gene Therapies Webinar Series

  In observance of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, OHRP partnered with the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) to host a two-part webinar series in September on sickle cell disease (SCD) and gene therapies.

  OHRP led the first webinar on September 18, “Part 1—Trust, Clinical Trials, and Transformative Therapies: Ethical Pathways in Gene Therapy and Sickle Cell Disease”. This event brought together individuals living with SCD (i.e., warriors), clinical researchers, bioethics experts, and government officials to explore how diverse partners can collectively build confidence and trust around life-changing, novel therapies in historically underserved populations.

  The second webinar, “Part 2—Innovations and Advances in Sickle Cell Disease Gene Therapies” was led by OMH and held on September 25. This webinar focused on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model, which leverages outcomes-based agreements to reduce costs and increase access for eligible warriors enrolled in participating state Medicaid programs.

  Access Slides - Part 1
  Access Slides - Part 2
  Part 1 Video
  Part 2 Video

• Feb 19-20

  Maintaining Public Trust in the Face of Emergency Trends in Research

  This Research Community Forum was hosted by The Augusta University Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) in partnership with Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, the University of Georgia, Emory University, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) in North Augusta, South Carolina. Topics covered included different types of conflicts in research, community engagement and maintaining public trust, and flexibility and innovation to respond to the evolving field of research.

2024

• Oct 17

  Webinar on Differing Approaches to Measuring and Ensuring IRB Effectiveness

  This webinar hosted experts in the field to discuss four key approaches for attempting to measure IRB effectiveness.

  See details about the webinar.

• Sept 19

  The Evolving Landscape of Human Research with AI – Putting Ethics to Practice

  OHRP hosted it’s 7th annual Exploratory Workshop on the ethical and practical considerations of human research with AI. This workshop explored the ethical and practical considerations for the use of AI in research involving humans.

  See details about the exploratory workshop.

• Sept 9-10

  Collaboration, Communication, and Connection

  This virtual Research Community Forum co-hosted with the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, and the University of Pennsylvania, covered topics such as, implementation research, use of synthetic data, and engaging “hard-to-reach” communities in research. Staff from the HHS Office of Research Integrity (ORI) and OHRP attended to answer questions and present.

• July 12

  50^th Anniversary of the National Research Act

  July 12, 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the National Research Act. The National Research Act was a response to public outcry that the federal government let hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama go untreated for syphilis for 40 years to study the impact of the disease on the human body. The Act included creation of federal rules to protect human participants in research. It also led to the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research to identify ethical standards to guide human research. This OHRP commemorative event reflected on what happened following the passage of the National Research Act, showcased the diverse role research participants play in contemporary research, and considered what future scientific advances may mean for research participants and public trust in research.

  See details about the anniversary.

• June 24

  What to Know About Conducting Research with HeLa Cells

  This presentation provided an overview of the ethics and regulations for conducting research with HeLa cells.

  This 1.25 hour webinar meets the criteria in the Certified IRB Professional (CIP) recertification guidelines and is eligible for 1 CIP credit. Viewers who watched a webinar (live or archived) that does not come with an attendance certificate, consider having a supervisor sign a log indicating the title of the session and the date on which it was watched as proof of attendance for accreditation purposes. Please refer to the Certified IRB Professional (CIP) recertification guidelines.

  Watch a recording of the session.

  Download the session slides.

• Apr 10-11

  Curating Connection

  The 2-day in-person Research Community Forum was co-sponsored with the University of Miami, the University of Florida, and the Johns Hopkins University. This event included interactive case studies with OHRP staff on day one to learn how to apply the regulations at 45 CFR 46. Day two hosted a keynote on the challenges with conducting human research in extreme environments involving spaceflight participants. Other topics covered include, Development of Human Research Protection Programs (HRPP), Data Protection and Integrity, and Increasing the Diversity of Research Participants.

• Feb 29

  The Principles of the Belmont Report and the Ethics of Human Research

  This presentation by Dr. Ivor Pritchard covered the Belmont Report ethical principles of justice, beneficence, and respect for persons, their application to research involving human participants, and how they may have evolved in response to changes in society and the research landscape.

  Watch a recording of the presentation.

  Download the presentation slides.

• Jan 5

  Brief Overview of SACHRP

  Learn about the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP).

  Watch the overview video.

View all 2023 Events.
View all 2022 Events.
View all 2021 Events.