Director of the Human Subjects Protection Office

Penn State College of Medicine

The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) seeks a highly motivated and experienced Director for the Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO) at the Penn State College of Medicine. Reporting to the Executive Director of Research Compliance and based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Director will lead all administrative and compliance activities for the HSPO, including: managing the institutional review boards (IRBs); supporting and educating researchers; collaborating with units on both the Hershey and University Park campuses; and managing the HSPO team. The ideal individual will have: experience operating human subjects protection activities in a biomedically focused institution; deep understanding of the field’s current and emerging regulatory requirements; and proven ability to build and maintain collegial relationships with a diverse group of staff and stakeholders.

Conversations about building a medical college in Hershey started in 1963, and three years later Penn State broke ground on a medical school, research center, and teaching hospital with support from the M.S. Hershey Foundation and the U.S. Public Health Service. The Penn State College of Medicine (COM) opened its doors to students in 1967 and the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accepted its first patients in 1970. The COM is part of an academic medical center that also includes Penn State Children’s Hospital and the Penn State Medical Group. Other affiliates include the St. Joseph Regional Health Network.

As part of the Office of the Vice President for Research, the HSPO supports five IRBs and over 2,000 active protocols per year. These activities contribute to Penn State’s overall research enterprise: the University’s research expenditures reached a new high of $927 million in 2017-18, ranking it in the top 25 of the nation’s public research universities. Of this, $100 million in funded research was at the College of Medicine. The University serves nearly 100,000 students across 24 campuses, and has 6,400 full-time faculty, 20,000 staff, 22,000 acres, and a $5.7 billion annual budget. The Hershey campus has more than 13,000 faculty and staff inclusive of approximately 1,700 learners, mainly medical students, residents, and fellows.

Penn State College of Medicine has retained the services of Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in its identification and review of candidates. Confidential inquiries, nominations, referrals, and curriculum vitae with cover letters should be directed in confidence to:

Rebecca Kennedy, Partner

Caitlin Barrett, Senior Associate

Isaacson, Miller

263 Summer Street

Boston, MA 02210

www.imsearch.com/7261

Electronic submission is strongly encouraged

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.