Dr. Denise Thornley-Brown, assistant professor of medicine in the division of nephrology, has been named to the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee.  

Posted on February 22, 2001 at 12:32 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Dr. Denise Thornley-Brown, assistant professor of medicine in the division of nephrology, has been named to the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala appointed Thornley-Brown and 11 other experts to serve on the committee, which will advise the HHS on issues pertaining to human subjects protections and responsible conduct of human research.

The creation of the advisory committee and the Office for Human Research Protections is one of several new initiatives to protect human subjects of clinical trials, including those involving gene transfer. The move is designed to heighten government oversight of biomedical research and to stress to research institutions the responsibility of overseeing their clinical researchers and institutional review boards.

"The recent explosion in biomedical research has presented new challenges and created new potential ethical dilemmas," Shalala said. "The advice and insights we receive from this new committee will be invaluable in helping us achieve our goal of further strengthening government oversight in protecting individuals who volunteer to participate in human research studies."

Dr. Thornley-Brown's research interests include sickle cell nephropathy and hypertension and renal disease in blacks. She has been a staff physician for UAB Hospital and Cooper Green Hospital since 1993 and is currently director of Cooper Green Hospital's renal clinic. She received her MD from Howard University College of Medicine in 1984 and completed fellowships at the University of Cincinnati and Emory University. 

Posted on February 22, 2001 at 12:32 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Dr. Denise Thornley-Brown, assistant professor of medicine in the division of nephrology, has been named to the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala appointed Thornley-Brown and 11 other experts to serve on the committee, which will advise the HHS on issues pertaining to human subjects protections and responsible conduct of human research.

The creation of the advisory committee and the Office for Human Research Protections is one of several new initiatives to protect human subjects of clinical trials, including those involving gene transfer. The move is designed to heighten government oversight of biomedical research and to stress to research institutions the responsibility of overseeing their clinical researchers and institutional review boards.

"The recent explosion in biomedical research has presented new challenges and created new potential ethical dilemmas," Shalala said. "The advice and insights we receive from this new committee will be invaluable in helping us achieve our goal of further strengthening government oversight in protecting individuals who volunteer to participate in human research studies."

Dr. Thornley-Brown's research interests include sickle cell nephropathy and hypertension and renal disease in blacks. She has been a staff physician for UAB Hospital and Cooper Green Hospital since 1993 and is currently director of Cooper Green Hospital's renal clinic. She received her MD from Howard University College of Medicine in 1984 and completed fellowships at the University of Cincinnati and Emory University.