Coming from previous postings with the State of Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio, TX, Ms. Pettersson has both extensive experience in leading IRBs, and a long-term vision for the management of this essential office.

In addition to streamlining the documentation process with on-line tools, Ms. Pettersson also has plans to institute participation in the University of Miami’s Human Subject Protection internet-based education Tutorial, create templates for IRB forms and consent form language written at a lower grade reading level, and engage new IRB members from the community.

“Parents of children who’ve gone through a study protocol, or patients who have actually been cured, these people would know better than anyone what it’s like from the other side of the bench,” explains Ms. Pettersson.

She also would like to see in-house conferences at Children’s Hospital and Research Institute at Oakland (CHRCO), with national leaders and in-depth presentations to help keep CHRCO’s researchers in step with the latest trends in protocols.

With Ms. Pettersson on board, CHORI continues to strive for the highest degree of ethical responsibility in the study of human disease, bringing both conscience and cures to clinical research.