Based on his contributions to the ethical conduct of research, Ernest Prentice, Ph.D., has received the Distinguished Service Award from the national organization for the protection of human and animal research subjects.
Dr. Prentice, associate vice chancellor for regulatory affairs at UNMC, received the award earlier this month (Dec. 5) from the Applied Research Ethics National Association (ARENA), during its Annual Human Research Protection Programs Conference in Boston.
“Under the leadership of Chancellor Harold M. Maurer (M.D.), UNMC has fostered an environment which promotes the highest standards of research ethics,” Dr. Prentice said. “It is a privilege to work here.”
Said Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research at UNMC: “I am pleased to see that Dr. Prentice continues to receive the national recognition that he so richly deserves. Dr Prentice is uniquely knowledgeable regarding research ethics, and he has a unique ability to teach these principles to others. His long service as a leader of our ethics and compliance team has been, and continues to be, an asset of tremendous value to the UNMC research effort.”
The award is given to ARENA members who have made long-standing contributions to the organization and have attained distinction in promoting the purpose and ideas of the group, which are to enhance human and animal research subject protections, as well as the responsible conduct of research through educational and professional development.
Dr. Prentice received the award for having served as faculty at ARENA conferences and PRIM&R’s (Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research) IRB 101 programs. PRIM&R is the educational component of ARENA. In addition, ARENA leaders recognized Dr. Prentice for sharing his expertise in the fields of both human and animal subjects research, his active commitment to organizations that promote ethical research and his contributions to the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) and the text “Institutional Review Board: Management and Function.”
Dr. Prentice also has contributed to the advancement of research ethics issues nationally through his work with the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and the Secretary’s Advisory Commission on Human Research Protections (SACHRP), which he has chaired since 2003. Both are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition to his scholarly work in the fields of anatomy and medical education, Dr. Prentice is the author of numerous articles on the ethics and regulation of human and animal research, and is a frequent speaker at meetings on various aspects of research ethics.
For more than 20 years, he has co-chaired the UNMC Institutional Review Board. The IRB assures the protection of all human subjects in research projects conducted by anyone on the premises of UNMC to research conducted elsewhere by faculty, students, staff, or other representatives of UNMC in connection with their institutional responsibilities. Dr. Prentice also is a professor in two departments at UNMC: the department of genetics, cell biology and anatomy and the department of preventive and societal medicine.