Board of Directors

Jori Leszczynski, DVM, DACLAM

Jori Leszczynski, DVM, DACLAM is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Animal Resources, Director of the Office of Laboratory Animal Resources and University Veterinarian at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus, as well as a Professor in the Department of Pathology in the School of Medicine. Dr. Leszczynski attended The Ohio State University for her Bachelors and Veterinary degrees and performed her residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2004. Throughout her career, she has held multiple leadership roles in animal facilities including Associate Director at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Director and AV at National Jewish Health, and Interim Director and AV at the University of Colorado Boulder. In all of her positions, Dr. Leszczynski has focused on program compliance, personnel management, budget, husbandry, and clinical management of the species she oversees. Dr. Leszczynski has a history of service to many professional organizations including leadership roles for the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP, Board of Directors and Membership Committee Chair), American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AAALAS, Institute for Laboratory Animal Management Committee, Local Arrangements Chair for 2019 Denver AALAS National Meeting, President of the Mile High Branch AALAS), as well as the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM, Board of Directors). She has also served as an ad hoc site visitor for AAALAC International since 2018. Her roles with PRIM&R have included service on the IACUC Conference Planning Committee 2013 – 2020, including serving as Co-Chair from 2015 to 2018. She served as a member of the Animal Care and Use Advisory Group. Dr. Leszczynski joined the Board of Directors in 2019 and currently serves as PRIM&R’s Board Chair.

Robert Nobles, DrPH, MPH

Dr. Robert Nobles (DrPH, MPH) serves as the Vice President for Research Administration at Emory University. Within Emory Nobles leads the research administrative and compliance departments including Clinical Research, Environmental Health and Safety, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Review Board, Research Administration – IT, Research Administration Services, Research Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, Research Grants and Contracts, Sponsored Programs, Strategic Operations and Training and Technology Transfer with more than 450 team members providing outstanding services that catalyze research and operational excellence. Daily, Nobles and team are responsible for providing the foundation for the research growth that Emory continues to experience while pursuing discovery. As an example of scope, in fiscal year 2022, Emory received nearly $945 million in total research funding awards.

As the Vice President for Research Administration, Nobles promotes Emory’s research growth through oversight and execution of a strategic direction and effective operations for research across Emory. Nobles works in tandem with senior leaders and faculty to ensure proactive, user-focused customer service; effective, metric-driven processes; and transparent communication, to further new and on-going research initiatives that comply with all regulatory requirements. Nobles also fosters the scholarly work of faculty, facilitates multidisciplinary initiatives, supports innovative technology-transfer and commercialization programs, and strives to increase funding support from all sources, while nurturing positive external relationships.

Nationally, Nobles serves as the Vice Chairperson on Board of Directors for Public Responsibility for Medicine & Research (PRIM&R), the Executive Committee for the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP), and a member of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advisory Committee for Business and Operations (Committee).

Prior to joining Emory University, Nobles served as the interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, (UTK) with a faculty appointment in the Department of Public Health within the College of Education, Health, & Human Sciences. While at UTK, Nobles led efforts and oversaw research growth and compliance activities related to a UTK's quest to become a top 25 public research institution. Nobles also served as a sub-investigator on more than 10 community- based research projects focusing on adolescent health, and chaired national and local committees focusing on enhancing research culture. Before UTK, Nobles served as the research compliance officer and public health faculty member at both Texas A&M University and the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. In the public sector, Nobles served as a public health prevention specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as a program manager for the state of Florida’s Department of Public Health.

Nobles completed his Doctor of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston with a triple major that included health policy & management, epidemiology, and health economics; and he received his master's in Public Health specializing in epidemiology, and a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from Florida A&M University. Nobles is an avid educator and has taught on the collegiate level since 2001 in the areas of environmental biology, anatomy and physiology, public administration, health policy and management, health care finance, ethics, epidemiology, and responsible conduct of research.

Megan Kasimatis Singleton, JD, MBE, CIP

Megan Kasimatis Singleton, JD, MBE, CIP is Associate Dean for Human Research Protection and Director of the Human Research Protection Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In this role she is responsible for oversight and direction of JHM's 8 IRBs. Ms. Singleton is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania. She earned her law degree from Temple University and her Masters in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her role in leading the Johns Hopkins Medicine HRPP, she serves as the director of central IRB (CIRB) activities for the Johns Hopkins/Tufts Trial Innovation Center (TIC), leading the charge for innovations in operationalizing single IRB (sIRB) review. Ms. Singleton serves as a member of the SMART IRB Harmonization Steering Committee, is an AAHRPP, Inc. site visitor and member of AAHRPP council and is a member of the Steering Committee for AEREO, a consortium designed to advance effective research ethics oversight through empirical research. 

Ms. Singleton currently teaches at the graduate level at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University, leading courses in research ethics and clinical trial management. She has developed research ethics curriculum and practical training in IRB administration tailored for national and international audiences. Ms. Singleton serves on the Public Policy Committee and as PRIM&R Board Secretary.  

Martha Jones, MA, CIP

Martha F. Jones, MA, CIP, is Vice President of Human Research Affairs at Mass General Brigham. Ms. Jones is a member of the PRIM&R Board where she serves as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee. Ms. Jones is the Chair of the Council on Accreditation of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAAHRP) and serves as a site visit team leader for the organization. In 2017, Ms. Jones received the AAHRPP Distinguished Team Leader Award. Ms. Jones co-leads the National Comprehensive Cancer Centers (NCCN) IRB Directors group and is also a member of the SMART IRB Harmonization Steering Committee. Ms. Jones is a member of the Mass General Hospital Chelsea Community Research Advisory Board. Ms. Jones previously worked at Washington University in St. Louis and The University of Iowa in research and administration roles. She has a background in clinical research ethics, epidemiology, biostatistics, speech pathology, audiology, public health, and the coordination of multicenter research studies. Ms. Jones co-developed a research application and data management system currently used at three large academic research institutions.

Allyson J. Bennett, PhD

Professor Allyson J. Bennett is a developmental biopsychologist and Chair of the Psychology Department at UW-Madison. She is the Director of the Harlow Center for Biological Psychology and served for seven years as the Faculty Director of the UW-Madison Animal Program that spans the university’s five colleges. Professor Bennett’s research expertise is in comparative studies of behavioral and neural development, with the overarching objective of advancing scientific insight into factors that result in individual differences in lifespan health. Comparative studies by Bennett and her colleagues have contributed new insights into how interplay between genes and environments affects neurobehavioral development. A complementary aim of Prof. Bennett’s research addresses the need for empirical evidence and decision-making models to inform evolving practices and policy in care and research with animals in a range of captive settings. She has served as Principal Investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health and has broad experience that includes a range of species-- rats, prosimian primates, monkeys, and chimpanzees— as well as behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging techniques employed widely in animal research.

A core part of Bennett’s work reflects commitment to engaging in public education and dialogue to improve understanding and protect public interests in humane and ethical scientific research. She has held leadership positions within scientific societies and organizations devoted to animal research policy and has extensive experience and expertise in regulation surrounding animal research. Over the past 10 years she has served as a senior editor and regular blogger for the international animal research advocacy group, Speaking of Research. She is honored to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare and the Board of Scientific Affairs at the American Psychological Association (APA). She also served as President of the Society of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology. Professor Bennett’s work to advance public education and dialogue about ethics and animal research has been recognized with awards and honors that include the Leadership in Science Advocacy Award from APA, the Charles River Ethics and Animal Welfare Lecturer, and the Synapse Award for Outstanding Neuroscience Outreach. She has given many keynote talks, invited addresses, and panels for national and international scientific and policy organizations, including the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, Scientists Center for Animal Welfare, International Basel Declaration Society Conference, Max Plank Tubingen Mysteries of the Brain Symposium, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Frontiers of Science. As a co-chair of the scientific society coalition, Sharing Truth about Animal Research (STAR), she has given talks at U.S. congressional briefings organized to inform legislators about animal research. Her commitment to public engagement is reflected through media work, including interviews with journalists at Science, Nature, Mother Jones, Chronicle of Higher Education, Buzzfeed, and The Economist, among others.

Quincy J. Byrdsong, EdD, CIP, CCRP

Dr. Quincy J. Byrdsong is the Vice President for Research Operations at Ballad Health in Johnson City, Tennessee. In this role, Dr. Byrdsong has strategic, operational, and programmatic oversight of all research efforts within Ballad in conjunction with the System Chair for Clinical Research and the Chief Academic Officer. Dr. Byrdsong is charged with the development and implementation of Ballad’s strategic research plan, Vision for Excellence in Research, oversees research directors, and partners with regional academic institutions to develop the infrastructure and resources to build a robust research enterprise. Additionally, Dr. Byrdsong leads all research administration and compliance functions of Ballad Health including advising the Institutional Review Board and collaborating regularly with Ballad Health executive leadership, Corporate Compliance, Medical Affairs, Patient Care Services and other departments as indicated to develop research policies and procedures.

Before coming to Ballad, Dr. Byrdsong served as the Vice Provost for Health Affairs at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.  He had operational responsibility for providing the full spectrum of leadership for Lipscomb Health. In his role as Vice Provost, Dr. Byrdsong had oversight of the College of Pharmacy, Schools of Cardiovascular Perfusion, Nursing, and Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition and Masters Programs in Exercise and Nutrition Science and Dietetics.   In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Byrdsong served as the institution’s Research Integrity Officer with oversight of research conflicts of interest and responsible conduct of research.

Dr. Byrdsong has served in several capacities in academic medicine and research administration.  He has over twenty years of direct clinical and basic research administration experience and has directed clinical trials offices at Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and Wellstar Health System.   Dr. Byrdsong is an avid public speaker and frequently speaks to audiences around the world on the topics of clinical trial administration, research ethics, and human subjects protections including the history of human experimentation.

Dr. Byrdsong received his Bachelor and Master Degrees in Biology from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) as well as his Specialist in Education.  At MTSU, Dr. Byrdsong was in the very first cohort of Patricia Roberts Harris Fellows in Biology.   Dr. Byrdsong went on to receive his Doctor of Education degree from Tennessee State University (TSU).  He is a Certified Institutional Review Board (IRB) Professional (CIP) and a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP).  Dr. Byrdsong is a past President of the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) and Member of the Board of Directors for both the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protections Programs (AAHRPP) and Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R).

Brenda Curtis, PhD, MsPH

Brenda Curtis, PhD, MsPH, is a Tenure Track Investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Intramural Research Program and Chief of the Technology and Translational Research Unit. Dr. Curtis is also Chair of the NIH Stigma Scientific Interest Group and has conducted empirical studies examining the role of stigmatizing language in the treatment of substance use disorders. Brenda works to pair evidenced-based research with novel methods and emerging technologies to address the societal need for empirically validated drug use interventions. Through clinical research, she works to intersect addiction treatment, technology, and long-term recovery. Using natural-language processing, digital phenotyping, and big data methodologies, she focusses on enhancing precision assessment of substance use and behavioral predictors using intensive longitudinal data and integrating passive sensor data from smartphones and wearable devices. Dr. Curtis employs multiple methodologies to facilitate the flow of scientific discovery to practical application allowing her to not only reach under-served populations, but to design health monitoring and behavioral change interventions that are user-centered, inclusive, and evidence-based.

Brenda earned both a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois and subsequently obtained her doctorate in communication from the University of Pennsylvania, where she most recently held the appointment of Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Addictions at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Curtis also completed a fellowship at the Fordham University HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute.

Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup, DHSc, MSc, MA

Dr. Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup is the Research Director of Real-World Evidence at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. As a researcher, bioethicist, and policy practitioner, her work centers on addressing implementation and ethical, legal, and social implications issues at the intersection of health policy and innovation. 

David Augustin Hodge, Sr., DMin, PhD

Dr. David Augustin Hodge Sr. currently serves as Associate Director of Education for the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Healthcare at Tuskegee University. In this role, which he began in October 2017, he coordinates the Center’s Bioethics Honors program and bioethics minor, its annual Public Health Ethics Intensive Course, and various outreach programs designed to engage the Center’s target audiences, as well as teaches bioethics and public health ethics courses.

In addition to his academic and administrative duties, Dr. Hodge is a researcher, author and editor. This includes serving as senior associate editor for the Center’s Journal of Healthcare, Sciences, and Humanities. This double-blind, peer-reviewed journal — a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Sponsored Programs — was first published in 2009 by the former Navy Medical Institute for the Healthcare Humanities and Research Leadership, and then transferred to the center in 2012 for continued publication.

Before his current appointment at Tuskegee University, Dr. Hodge served as an adjunct/assistant professor of philosophy at Georgia State University and as a guest lecturer in philosophy, theology and ethics at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. For nearly two decades prior, he provided leadership to the Religion and Philosophy Department at Florida Memorial University in Miami. During a portion of that time, he also taught moral theory and bioethics courses at Nova Southeastern University (He also served as adjunct professor of philosophy, ethics, religion and logic at Broward College, Miami Dade College, St. Thomas University and Barry University, all in South Florida).

Dr. Hodge, the 11th of 12 children born to Alice and Alvin Hodge, rose above being blinded at 12 years of age by an abusive person to become an ambassador for Christ through love, empathy, compassion and care. While pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Miami, he completed his dissertation entitled Jesus the Virtue Ethicist: A Meta-ethical Anticipation of Moral Sentimentalism, Empathy and Care, which draws from the continued intersection his life has had with these virtues. The themes of physical, emotional and spiritual healing continued to prevail in the books he later authored: In the Midst of My Tears (2003), God of Our Silent Tears (2001), and God of Our Silent Tears: A Five Week Journey (2003

A native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Hodge’s academic background includes a Bachelor of arts degree in Bible, Theology and English from American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee; a Master of Arts degree in Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma; a Master of Theological Studies degree from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia; and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Miami in Miami, Florida.

David Litwack, PhD

David Litwack, PhD, is currently Associate Vice President for Scientific Strategy and Communications at Prevail Therapeutics (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly), a biotech company that focuses on developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. In this role, he focuses on the development of new and innovative technologies.

Dr. Litwack spent many years as an academic scientist, and from 2002 to 2010 was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and a member of the Program in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. During that time, Dr. Litwack established and directed an NIH-funded lab that studied the role of transcription factors in neurogenesis in the mammalian brain and in human embryonic stem cells. He was also a founding member of the School’s Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, where he supported University leadership in establishing some of its initial programs and communications. Finally, he taught extensively in both graduate and medical school classes in subjects including anatomy, neuroscience, developmental biology, and research ethics.

In 2010, Dr. Litwack was awarded an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship in NCI’s Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research. During this fellowship, he led several efforts to develop policy and programs to advance the use of biobanking for personalized medicine. At the completion of this fellowship in 2012, he joined the FDA as a science policy analyst on the Personalized Medicine Staff in the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health. At FDA, Dr. Litwack developed policies and procedures for the review of companion diagnostics, investigational lab tests, and genomic technologies. In addition to authoring several policy guidances, Dr. Litwack was the FDA lead for President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative and the FDA’s representative to the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health at the National Academies of Sciences.

Dr. Litwack received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Biology from MIT, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Dr. Litwack also serves as the 2023 Ombuds.

Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBE

Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBE, is Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics and Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarly work focuses on the ethics and regulation of clinical research, pre-approval access to investigational drugs, FDA policy, and health care gatekeeping. She is founder and co-chair of the Consortium to Advance Effective Research Ethics Oversight (www.AEREO.org), established in 2018. She served as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) from 2014-2019. Professor Fernandez Lynch joined PRIM&R's Board of Directors in 2020 and chairs the Public Policy Committee. She was named a Greenwall Faculty Scholar in 2019, a Hastings Center Fellow in 2021, and a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader in 2022. 

Prior to joining Penn, Professor Fernandez Lynch was Executive Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and Teaching Faculty in the Master of Bioethics program at Harvard Medical School. She has worked as an attorney in private practice focused on pharmaceuticals regulation and as a bioethicist at the NIH’s Division of AIDS and President Obama's Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She attended college at Penn, was a Levy Scholar in Law and Bioethics at Penn Law, and earned a Master of Bioethics also from Penn. 

Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH

Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH is a Distinguished Professor in the UCLA Departments of Psychology and Health Policy and Management. She has served as an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Diversity, Chair of the Academic Faculty Senate, Chair of the Undergraduate Council and served on a number of ad hoc committees at UCLA as well as system-wide committees such as the UC Health Care Task Force for the University of California. She has a long-standing interest in the treatment of human subjects and ethical issues which stemmed from her work as one of the early HIV/AIDS researchers in the 80’s. This propelled her initial appointment and eventual service as the Vice Chair on the UCLA Human Protection of Subjects IRB.

Her research is shaped by underlying themes reflecting her interests in furthering empirically based research on underserved populations, particularly ethnic minority communities and women. She examines physical and mental health disparities and recently developed with colleagues a model of social risk and vulnerability for COVID in racial/ethnic/low-income communities. 

In addition, Dr. Mays is the Director of the UCLA Center for Bridging Research Innovation, Training and Education on Minority Health Disparities Solutions. This NIH funded center is the source of the development of a curriculum designed to train racial/ethnic minority community members in ethical research principles in order to join the research workforce. The Center has developed a Mexican Spanish version of the CITI training at a seventh-grade reading level in order to make the training available to community members wanting to become involved in the interpretation and production of research data.

Dr. Mays has received a number of awards for her research including APA’s Distinguished Contributions for Research in Public Policy, the AMFAR Lifetime Research award for her women and HIV publications, American Public Health Association’s Carl Taube Lifetime Career Award in Mental Health and a host of others.

Gianna McMillan, D. Bioethics, MFA

Gianna “Gigi” McMillan, MA, D. Bioethics, is the Associate Director for the Bioethics Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she manages the academic curriculum and teaches Research Ethics. In 1996 she co-founded We Can, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, a support network for families whose children have been diagnosed with brain cancer. This Los Angeles-based group evolved into a state-wide non-profit organization, serving hundreds of families each year. We Can became a national demonstration project, offering support to patients and family members – in Spanish and in English, until it became the California chapter of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States in 2016. Dr. McMillan has been an advisor to the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, the National Brain Tumor Society, and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. She has extensive experience as a Subject/Patient Advocate on local and national IRBs, was a member of the Subpart A Subcommittee for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection and is a patient representative on the FDA’s Pediatric Advisory Committee. Dr. McMillan was a Student Director for the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, has been a faculty member at PRIM&R since 2004, and is the Director of Community Engagement for the academic journal, Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics. Her primary interests are consent issues in clinical research and the use of narrative as an educational tool in bioethics. Dr. McMillan joined PRIM&R's Board of Directors in 2020, serves on the Governance Committee, and is Co-Chair of the Membership Committee. 

Helen O’Meara, MS, CPIA, LSSGB

Helen O’Meara, provided leadership for the staff team supporting the Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC) and the Institutional Biosafety Committees at The Ohio State University for over 15 years. She was also a member of the IACUC at Ohio State. Helen previously served as the IACUC Quality Improvement Specialist. She is a Certified Professional in IACUC Administration (CPIA) and has obtained Lean Six Sigma green belt certification. Prior to her Ohio State employment, Helen worked in contract animal research laboratories directing toxicology studies and preparing health assessments for regulatory agencies. She was also the director of a statewide non-profit organization. Helen received her Masters of Science in Environmental Health Science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio and her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Biology from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She has also been certified as a Laboratory Animal Technologist by AALAS. Helen has been involved in organizations including AALAS-Northern Ohio Branch, and Society of Toxicology – Ohio Valley Chapter and has been a board member for the Ohio Scientific, Education and Research Association (OSERA), a board member and President pro-temp for a local county health department and an officer of the Columbus area Mortar Board Alumni Society. Helen has served on the PRIM&R planning committee for the annual IACUC conference from 2017-2021. 

Suzanne Rivera, PhD, MSW

Dr. Suzanne Rivera is the President of Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She also is a Professor of Public Affairs, and her scholarly work focuses on research ethics and science policy. Previously, she served as Vice President for Research and Technology Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she also was a faculty member in the Department of Bioethics at the CWRU School of Medicine. Dr. Rivera served on the US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) and the Environmental Protection Agency's Human Studies Review Board (HSRB). In addition to writing numerous journal articles and book chapters, Rivera co-edited the book Specimen Science, published by MIT press in 2017. She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on grants from the NIH, the NSF, the DHHS Office of Research Integrity, and the Cleveland Foundation. Dr. Rivera received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Civilization from Brown University, a Master's degree in social welfare from the University of California-Berkeley, and a doctoral degree in public policy from the University of Texas.

Stephen Rosenfeld, MD

Stephen Rosenfeld is currently the Executive Board Chair of North Star Review Board and the President of Freeport Research Systems, LLC.

Dr. Rosenfeld is a hematologist who earned his medical degree from Cornell. He trained in internal medicine at Dartmouth and completed his hematology fellowship at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He spent 19 years at NIH, holding positions at NHLBI and the NIH Clinical Center, doing both basic and clinical research, and finally working in medical informatics and administration. He ended his time at the NIH as the Chief Information Officer of the Clinical Center. Dr. Rosenfeld moved from Bethesda, Maryland to Portland, Maine, where he was the CIO of MaineHealth, a large independent delivery network, before moving to Olympia, Washington as the CEO of the Western Institutional Review Board (WIRB). He served as the Executive Board Chair of Quorum Review from 2012 to 2019, and is currently the Executive Board Chair of North Star Review Board, an independent 501(c)(3) IRB. In addition to his medical degree, he holds a Master's in Business Administration from Georgetown. Dr. Rosenfeld received the honor of Distinguished Professor of Medicine from Daegu Catholic University Medical Center in Korea in 2013. He served on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections (SACHRP) from 2014 to 2020, and as chair of that committee from 2017 to 2020. In 2019 he joined the board of the Association for Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), and is currently the vice-chair.

Dr. Rosenfeld has been a member of PRIM&R since joining the ethical review community as CEO of WIRB. He has presented on IRB Quality and has been an active participant at PRIM&R's annual Advancing Ethical Research Conference. As a physician/researcher who has worked on both the business and review sides of the independent IRB community, he has a unique understanding of the complex ethical and procedural issues facing the larger community as it adapts to the single IRB mandate from the NIH and in the updated Common Rule. He has additional expertise in public policy and information systems, topics that are becoming increasingly important as the research community adopts the tools and methods of mobile devices, e-commerce, and big data. Dr. Rosenfeld joined PRIM&R's Board in 2018 and serves on the Finance Committee and on the Public Policy Committee.

Desmond Upton Patton, PhD, MSW

Desmond Upton Patton is the Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor and the thirty-first Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor. He has joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication along with a secondary appointment in the department of psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine. 

Professor Patton’s groundbreaking research into the relationship between social media and gang violence – specifically how communities constructed online can influence often harmful behavior offline – has led to his becoming the most cited and recognized scholar in this increasingly important area of social science. His early work attempting to detect trauma and preempt violence on social media led to his current roles as an expert on language analysis and bias in AI and a member of Twitter’s Academic Research advisory board and Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council.  As a social worker, Patton realized existing gold standard data science techniques could not accurately understand key cultural nuances in language amongst predominantly black and Hispanic youth. In response, he created the Contextual Analysis of Social Media (CASM) approach to center and privilege culture, context and inclusion in machine learning and computer vision analysis. CASM can be applied by businesses and other organizations to observe social media and workplace communication channels for potentially incendiary language, which taken out of context can lead to violence. With this methodology, organizations can better foster diverse and inclusive environments and minimize employee conflict. Further, Patton’s insights on creating non-biased and culturally nuanced algorithms give tech companies a holistic perspective on various business and social issues. The companies that adopt these proactive measures are then able to ensure they are not unintentionally propagating bias.  

In 2018, Professor Patton published a groundbreaking finding in the prestigious Nature journal, Digital Medicine, which uncovered grief as a pathway to aggressive communication on Twitter. The report was cited in an amici curiae brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court in Elonis v. United States, which examined the interpretation of threats on social media. Widely referenced across disciplines, Patton’s research at the intersections of social media, AI, empathy and race has been mentioned in the New York Times, Nature, Washington Post, NPR, Vice News, ABC News and other prestigious media outlets.  

Professor Patton was a Member of the Board of Directors at the Columbia Center for Technology Management and was appointed Faculty Associate at Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. He won the 2018 Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) for his work on social media, AI and well-being. He was named a 2017-2018 fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and is a 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar and Technology and a 2019 Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard Kennedy School. Patton is currently a member of the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility at AAAS and a member of the Scientific Board for Children and Screens Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.   

Before joining Penn, Patton was Professor of Social Work and Sociology at Columbia University, Senior Associate Dean at Columbia School of Social Work and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Data Science Institute at Columbia.