Ethics Communication Bulletin (July 2023)

New staff to our team and the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio

Meera Sidhu, Research Ethics Manager, has a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification and a Masters or Science degree in Neuroscience from Wayne State University. Meera has over 6 years of experience as a research ethics coordinator and over 8 years of experience in building robust service programs. Serving as SME in research involving human participants, Meera ensures that stakeholders are aware of the ongoing consent process, regulatory guidelines and polices/procedures that govern research.

Jaqueline Silva PhD, Research Ethics Coordinator, completed her BSc in Biological Sciences in 2008, MSc of Immunology in 2010 and PhD in Immunology in 2015 at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. After completing her graduate studies, Jaqueline moved to Canada to become a postdoctoral fellow at Queen's University, and was promoted to Research Associate after 2 years. During her appointment, Jaqueline had her first contact with policies, regulations and protocols that govern the conduct of research and decided that this was the career path she wanted to follow. Jaqueline then joined the Research of Ethics and Compliance as an Ethics Coordinator hoping that she can contribute to Queen's mission of advancing research through discovery and discourse that is founded on equity and diversity.

Aaron Rose, Research Training Officer, Aaron began his own postsecondary journey in the Fine Art program at Georgian College, completing his BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and later his MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Art. Aaron returned to Georgian, to teach, for more than a decade before taking on the role of program coordinator for the Art and Design Foundation program at Loyalist College. Aaron returned to postsecondary, completing the MA Arts Leadership program at Queen’s and spent time working in the Advancement department at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Eager to continue engaging with education and valuing well designed learning experiences Aaron became a student yet again, this time with a focus on the discipline of Instructional Design. Aaron is will be contributing to the work of the REB in a meaningful way as he will be heading up the development and roll out of educational training videos, resources and onboarding of our new researchers at Queen’s into the world of ethics.

Queen’s University Research Ethics Boards Annual Retreat:

The Queen’s General Research Ethics Board (GREB), Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals REB (HSREB) and Unit REBs met in May for a morning of education and discussion on topics relevant to human participant research ethics.

Topics included emerging issues of concern around research security and data privacy, considerations for social media use in the context of recruitment and data collection, broad consent policies, and common “roadblocks” in the application review process.

Excellent discussion was had, and it was a fantastic opportunity to put faces to names, socialize, and learn from each other. We look forward to our next retreat and are grateful to the VPR’s Portfolio for facilitating this event.

Upcoming Guidelines and Policies:

Research Ethics is hard at work reviewing, revising, and developing guidance for researchers at Queen’s. As such, please keep an eye out in the near future for updated policies related to Social Media (recruitment and data collection), revised SOPs, infographics on delegated vs. full board review processes, and more – including an REB Handbook! We hope to continue to provide our faculty and study teams with the resources necessary to guide you through the ethics review processes at Queen’s.