June 20, 2005

Dear Colleagues:

I am very pleased to tell you that Johns Hopkins Medicine has received full accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). The site visitors could not have been more laudatory about the outstanding commitment of the institution, IRB chairs and members, staff and researchers to the protection of research participants. They recognized the extraordinary strides that we have made and the dedication to excellence that pervades all of our efforts. In awarding accreditation, the AAHRPP council agreed and indicated that we have a "stellar" program.

This is a wonderful achievement. As you can see at their web site (http://www.aahrpp.org/www.aspx), few organizations have passed this very high bar. This achievement is possible because the organization provided the necessary resources, we had the right people--Barbara Starklauf and Judith Carrithers, especially--and faculty and staff were willing to go to any length to do the right thing. It is a fitting tribute to everyone's hard work and we should all feel pleased.

Thank you for your commitment to research participant protection.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and HPM
Vice-Dean for Clinical Investigation