Appointment of Dr. Alan Fine as Director of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education Program
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
and Dr. Tim Barbari, Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs
This past spring, we launched a University-wide search for the next Director of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education Program. We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Alan Fine, Professor of Medicine in the BU School of Medicine, to head the RCR Education Program, effective September 2014.
Initiated in 2010 as part of a Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research and Mentoring of Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers, the RCR Education Program provides development and oversight of instructional programs in research ethics for students (both undergraduate and graduate), postdoctoral fellows, and faculty advisors across the entire University. For the plan and additional information on the program, please visit the RCR website at http://www.bu.edu/orc/programs-committees/rcr/. With the retirement this past May of the RCR Education Program’s founding director, Susan Frey, it was imperative that we identify a successor with the credentials, leadership skills and strong background in teaching, research and ethics necessary to build on Susan’s excellent work and carry forward the program’s important mission.
An internationally recognized researcher and clinician in the treatment of pulmonary disorders, Professor Fine began teaching at BU in 1989 and today serves as Director of the Medical School’s Stem Cell Biology Program. For nearly two decades, he has run an NIH-funded program focused on lung development and lung injury repair, translating his lab’s discoveries into clinically viable treatments, while publishing numerous textbook chapters and dozens of articles in top journals on pulmonary medicine. Professor Fine has emerged in recent years as an active voice in patient care and bioethics. He was last year selected for a prestigious Harvard Bioethics Fellowship, serves on numerous hospital and medical school committees related to ethics and patient care for veterans and recently developed a case-based ethics education program for medical trainees at the VA Hospital. Professor Fine is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he also received his M.D. He completed his postdoctoral training at Boston City Hospital.
In his new role, Professor Fine will lead the RCR’s educational program, working to assure it meets the requirements of the University’s RCR Plan and relevant federal regulations, in concert with the Office of Research Compliance. Reporting to the Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs and to the Associate Provost for the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, he will be responsible for the program curriculum, presentation of the advanced workshops, and recruitment of faculty members from across the University to serve as mentors in the workshops. He will also serve in a consultative role, working with key faculty advisors from both the Charles River and Medical campuses.
Through extensive conversations with Professor Fine about his vision and ideas for the RCR Education Program, it was quickly evident that his enthusiasm, considerable credentials in research, teaching and ethics, and passion for continuing education make him an ideal fit for the position of Director. Moreover, his longstanding success in federal grant writing and the respect he’s earned from colleagues across the medical and science communities, we believe, will be exceptional assets as he works to maintain and further expand the vitality of this program.
Professor Fine will officially begin his duties as Director of the RCR Education Program at the start of the Fall semester. Please join us in congratulating him on his appointment and in welcoming him into this new role. We are confident that under his direction, Boston University’s RCR Education Program will continue to be a national example, greatly enhancing the ability of our research enterprise to attract external funding and achieve important and lasting practical discoveries.