This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

A first event of its kind for researchers in the region was about to be held last year, when the pandemic forced it to be shut down.

But now, the Avera Research Integrity Conference is coming to Sioux Falls, with an all-day event Sept. 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown.

Thanks to a federal grant from the HHS Office of Research Integrity, it’s a free event that’s already interesting a broad cross-section of professionals and students.

We sat down with Lynn Bartholow, Executive Director of Research Compliance at Avera, to learn more about what to expect.

What are you trying to offer with this conference?

Traditionally, responsible conduct of research training required for researchers is done online and self-paced, usually  focused on discovery-level research. This conference is focused on clinical research – where we’ve progressed from the bench and from animal testing into human testing. Avera and Sanford and some other regional organizations do a fair amount of clinical research, and there’s never been in-person responsible conduct of research training locally focused on clinical research.

We’ve partnered with the Association of Clinical Research Professionals MN Chapter, South Dakota Biotech, local universities and professionals from the quality assurance field to create this conference.

Topics will include learning about research misconduct from a federal perspective from the NIH Director of Extramural Research and best practices for conducting research within tribal communities, which a lot of researchers are interested in.

Who is a good fit for attending the conference?

We’re really focused on those who are conducting human subject research, — although we have some speakers who can speak to potential research misconduct that might happen not just with human research. One of the main speakers is an attorney for a whistle blower at Duke University the DOJ settled for $112.5 million. It involves a case of researchers doing animal research that was grant-funded falsifying data, so it’s a good reminder of what can happen if you commit research misconduct. And we have a speaker from the FDA Bioresearch Monitoring program. They inspect any facility doing any type of research, so I’m excited to have him speak about decentralized clinical trials, which is really a hot topic.

Thus far we’re seeing a mix of people registering, including PhDs, students, nurses, pharmacists, so it’s a good cross-section of people. There’s also a virtual option for those not able to or comfortable attending in person. But by opening that up we’ve also drawn several from Minneapolis, someone from Los Angeles, Omaha and Rapid City as well as representatives from USD and SDSU.

Is networking is a big part of the event?

Absolutely! We have a wide smattering of people but the common connection is they’re all interested in or doing some sort of research with human subjects. We want them to be able to meet one another and network andwe’re also going to do a mentor-mentee match mixer at the end. One of the best ways to prevent research misconduct is for researchers to have a mentor, so we’ve asked people if they’re willing to mentor or looking for a mentor so we can match people up.

I’d like people to register by August 27. To learn more and register, click here. www.avera.org/integrity

Accreditation

Physicians

Avera is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  Avera designates this educational activity for a maximum of 9.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ^TM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 Nurses (NCPD)

Avera is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.  A total of 9.0 contact hours can be received upon completion of this education activity.  Attendance at the entire educational activity is required to receive contact hours.

Pharmacy

The South Dakota Board of Pharmacy approved credit for pharmacists: 7.0 hours.  Continuing Education No. SDCE021-054.