Edward Kuczynski, MA, has been selected as the new Director of the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) after a nationwide competitive search. In this role, Edward will oversee the UCSF HRPP, which comprises the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and its committees, the Quality Improvement Unit, and the Human Gamete, Embryo and Stem Cell Research (GESCR) Committee. He also will work closely with other units within the UCSF Office of Research as well as the broader UCSF research community to both protect research participants and to review studies in a timely fashion.

As HRPP director, Edward reports to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of Research Brian Smith and collaborates with Associate Director of Clinical Trials Payam Nahid through whom he will connect with the Clinical Trialist Advisory Committee, a UCSF-wide advisory body on clinical trials operations.

This is a return for Edward to UCSF as he previously worked as a UCSF research epidemiologist, consulting on public health studies and organizing the AIDS and Adolescence Project. More recently, Edward was a Strategic Advisor for Clinical and Translational Research Programs at the Stanford Center for Clinical & Translational Research & Education, Stanford University School of Medicine. He has also served as the Director of Clinical Research Operations at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Tufts Medical Center as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Edward is also the founding director and CEO of EIR Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical agent licensing entity that aims to advance treatment of neurodegenerative diseases through strategic acquisition and out-licensing of novel therapies. With his selection as the HRPP Director, Edward will wind down his involvement with the company.

Edward is enthusiastic about joining the Office of Research team and engaging with stakeholders in program operations, research, and partnership activities. Edward has a record of promoting a collaborative, transparent, inclusive, and collegial atmosphere and looks forward to applying those same principles in his new UCSF position. Edward has spent many years engaged in protecting human participants in research. His skills, experience, and professional interests are well-suited to assuming responsibility for development, implementation, and advancement of policies and initiatives affecting research participants. He also has extensive experience and accomplishments in both envisioning and implementing improvements to clinical research oversight of university-wide impact. Edward received his MA in Biological Anthropology from the University of Michigan and his BA in Anthropology from New York University.

Sherry Felchlin, who has been the interim HRPP director since September, will now serve as the interim HRPP associate director. We thank Sherry for her important leadership during this transition period and for her willingness to continue providing her knowledge and expertise through the associate director role.

Please join us in welcoming Edward on his return to UCSF.