UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Office for Research Protections (ORP) has announced Jen Kucera as the new executive director of the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP), effective Feb. 3. Kucera joins Penn State from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she served as associate director of regulatory affairs.
The HRPP is the administrative Institutional Review Board (IRB) office that oversees all research involving human subjects at the University and provides support for all Penn State researchers, including those at the College of Medicine and Penn State Health. Every institution that conducts federally funded research with human subjects has an established IRB that aims to ensure compliance with federal ethical regulations designed to protect participants.
“Penn State represents excellence in research and innovation, and I am sincerely honored to join the Penn State HRPP, which is such a collaborative and dynamic team of professionals,” Kucera said. “I am eager to work together as we navigate the evolving research landscape, ensuring that participants' rights and welfare remain paramount, as well as provide exceptional customer service to the Penn State research community.”
With 15 years of experience in IRB administration at Mount Sinai and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Kucera brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role. As the associate director of regulatory affairs at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, she oversaw the team that streamlined processes and oversaw a significant increase in studies under external IRB review. Kucera also collaborated with the research community on the challenges they faced conducting research during the pandemic. Prior to her work with the IRB, Kucera was a clinical research assistant and bioanalytical data manager.
“After working hard for the last four years to reimagine the HRPP, I look forward to building on this positive momentum with Jen,” said Rachel Lally, assistant vice president for research. Lally was previously the executive director of the HRPP and will continue working closely with the HRPP in her current role overseeing research compliance in the ORP. “I know she will be responsive to researcher needs as we all work to continue to advance science at Penn State.”