Institutional Review Board Minutes
March 29, 2001
Members Present: Allen, Coogan Finney, Ferrari-Comeau, Kay, Priess, & Stewart
This IRB meeting was opened at 3:05 PM in room 326 of Wyatt Hall.
1) Minutes from the 2/28/01 meeting were approved by a voice vote of 7-0-0 (8 in favor, 0 opposed, 0
abstained), without modifications or corrections.
New Business:
2) The Board is most pleased to welcome Patrick Coogan, as our new community representative. Mr.
Coogan, who currently lives in Tacoma, is a lifelong resident of western Washington and holds a B.S. in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Georgetown University. He
has an extensive career background in patent law, via work in the U.S. Patent Office, a Seattle patent law
firm, and Weyerhaeuser Company where he served as Corporate Patent Counsel and Assistant General
Counsel until his recent retirement. He is currently Chairperson of the Board of Directors for
Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity, and Treasurer for Job Carr's Cabin in Old Town. Mr.
Coogan was introduced to Board members today and participated in the protocol review for this meeting.
He is a most welcome and valued addition to the Board's membership.
3) Review of Protocol #0001-012: Questions were raised regarding measurement protocols for the
proposed 2-point discrimination test, monofilament sensory threshold assessment, and algometry. One
editorial suggestion was made to the text of the protocol in Section (E) "Benefits." Board members
suggested the following changes be made to the Consent Form: it should be printed on University of
Puget Sound letterhead, and the project description section should clarify the number of times during a
given week that the subject will be exposed to the desensitization procedure, that desensitization of each
limb will expose the entire affected limb area to the desensitization material, and the subject will be asked
to keep a daily log of home desensitization treatment and daily pain ratings. Language of the consent
form was modified to state that "if you (the subject) chose to continue participation through the entire span
of the investigation, you will receive a maximum of ten weeks of desensitization training." It was also
suggested that the subject be instructed on the consent form to call the principle investigator in the event
he/she chooses at any time to discontinue participation. The principle investigator was in attendance for
this discussion and was fully agreeable to all recommended revisions, and assured the Board that they
would be incorporated into the text of the protocol and a revision of the consent form.
Approved by voice vote of 7-0-1 (7 approved, 0 disapproved, 1 abstention)
4) Animal Care: Ray Priess read a memo from Terry Cooney responding to the Board's
recommendations regarding the establishment and composition of an Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee. The IACUC may serve, for the time being, as an IRB subcommittee. Terry Cooney has
requested that Alyce DeMaris, Ed Degras, and Judith Kay serve as initial IACUC members. Judith Kay
reports that the first IACUC meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2001.
6) Proposed Survey to Department Chairs: Issues raised regarding the proposed outreach survey to
chairs of academic units included the suggestion of developing a campus resource list of individuals with
expertise in research areas such as ethical issues, vulnerable populations, survey data, retrospective
records research, oral histories, the IRB process, etc.; discussion of possible campus outreach
mechanisms; and the establishment of an annual contact meeting with departmental IRB designates.
7) The meeting was adjourned at 3:58 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Roger Allen, IRB secretary