UAB’s Marson Named to First APA Human Research Oversight Group

Daniel Marson, Ph.D., J.D., director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Alzheimer’s Disease Center, has been named to the first American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Human Research. Marson is one of seven committee members charged with ensuring that research using human participants complies with prevailing ethical principles and federal regulatory standards and policies.

January 29, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Daniel Marson, Ph.D., J.D., director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Alzheimer's Disease Center, has been named to the first American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Human Research. Marson is one of seven committee members charged with ensuring that research using human participants complies with prevailing ethical principles and federal regulatory standards and policies.

The APA committee also will examine issues regarding the creation and use of principles and regulations pertaining to human-research studies, encompassing such topics as confidentiality, decisional capacity, diversity of research populations, research dissemination, cross-disciplinary standards, international collaborations and resource and data-sharing. 

Additionally, the committee will develop and disseminate guidance and training materials on human-research protections and help the APA monitor and respond to proposed legislation and regulations that affect the conduct of research.

"Rapid advances in science and technology, particularly in regard to genetics and imaging, give rise to new ethical dilemmas and challenges for the current regulatory system," said Marson, a professor of neurology at UAB who earned a Ph.D., in clinical psychology from Northwestern University Medical School in 1990. "I'm honored to have been selected to serve on this committee, as I believe it will play a leading role in addressing emerging ethical and regulatory issues as they affect the psychological, behavioral, and clinical research communities."

About UAB and the UAB Alzheimer's Disease Center

Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center and the state of Alabama's largest employer. The Alzheimer's Disease Center at UAB is dedicated to providing comprehensive treatment for Alzheimer's patients while also promoting research for the prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The center's staff seeks to alleviate the effects of Alzheimer's disease by providing the best quality of life possible for patients as the search for a cure continues.