Research

Opportunities abound at East Tennessee State University to conduct research, scholarly work, and artistic production.  Creative activities by the faculty and students at ETSU result in discoveries that advance the welfare of humankind and provide new and exciting cultural experiences for our community, our region, and the nation. 

Students are encouraged to become involved with faculty in research, scholarship, and artistic creation.  The results of the efforts of ETSU faculty and students in the area of research speak for themselves.  In 2004 ETSU received more than $36,000,000 in external funding for grants and contracts, a three-fold increase in six years.

ETSU granted accreditation from AAHRPP

East Tennessee State University has moved into an impressive league. The institution is now one of only 33 organizations in the nation to be accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP).

This designation applies to research project studies involving human subjects approved by the ETSU Campus and ETSU/VA Medical Campus Institutional Review Boards, which review all studies at ETSU, the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, and Mountain States Health Alliance.

ETSU joins other accredited institutions such as Baylor College of Medicine, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Vanderbilt University.

“This accreditation sends an important message to the region that all research studies involving human subjects conducted at ETSU, the VA, and MSHA meet the highest standards of compliance possible,” said Dr. Michael L. Woodruff, ETSU Vice Provost for Research. “We have a strong commitment to human research protection and are among a small, but elite, cohort of institutions to have successfully undergone this rigorous review process.

“Essentially, in terms of safety monitoring, our research programs go above and beyond the standard federal government regulations.”

To achieve AAHRPP accreditation, organizations must be able to demonstrate that extensive safeguards are built into every level of their research operation. AAHRPP standards exceed federal regulations in two ways: The protections for research participants that the federal government requires only for federally sponsored or regulated research are extended to all research and AAHRPP requires additional protections, such as conflict of interest rules and community education.

This AAHRPP accreditation also means that the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center is one of the first in the country to satisfy new federal requirements for research conducted at VA facilities.

“The VA and ETSU are participating in promising clinical trial studies that are likely to bring new advances in health care,” said Dr. George Youngberg, Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Quillen VA Medical Center. “These include prevention, diagnostic, and treatment methods in cardiology, cancer, mental health, audiology, primary care, geriatrics, and many other fields, and the patients participating in these research trials have the assurance that the strongest and most rigorous safety measures are in place.”

ETSU has received full accreditation that will be valid for three years.

For more information, call (423) 439-6000.