KALAMAZOO—The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs announced that it has awarded full accreditation to Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.
The medical school in Kalamazoo joins more than 600 organizations worldwide in adhering to AAHRPP’s accreditation requirements, widely regarded as the gold standard for research protections.
“AAHRPP accreditation delivers a powerful message about the quality and commitment of a research organization,” said the organization’s president, Elyse I. Summers. “That makes a difference to potential research partners and to research participants, who want assurances that their safety comes first,” AAHRPP President and CEO Elyse I. Summers said. “It’s heartening to know that AAHRPP-accredited organizations are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, adhering to the highest ethical standards as they work to find vaccines, treatments and cures for the virus.”
AAHRPP accreditation provides an independent, objective assessment of an organization’s human research protection program. To earn AAHRPP accreditation, WMU’s medical school demonstrated that it has built extensive safeguards into every level of its research operation and adheres to high standards for research.
“We congratulate WMed and applaud them—and all our accredited organizations—for their commitment to research participants and their contributions to high-quality research and the advances it makes possible,” Summers said.
AAHRPP has accredited research entities across the United States and in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
All major U.S. independent institutional review boards have earned AAHRPP accreditation. In addition, more than 70 percent of U.S. medical colleges and 85 percent of the top U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded academic medical centers are AAHRPP accredited or have begun the accreditation process.
More about AAHRPP at www.aahrpp.org.