News Release – BRANY Names Michael Belotto as Chairperson for Social-Behavioral IRB
NEWS RELEASE
BRANY (brany.com) has announced that Michael Belotto, PhD, MPH, CCRC, CCRA, will serve as chairperson for their social-behavioral IRB. The SBER IRB is comprised of a multidisciplinary group of experts in social and behavioral research, as well as human subject protection.
“Dr. Belotto has been a great contributor to BRANY IRB’s success over the past 20 years,” says Raffaella Hart, MS, CIP, Vice President, IRB and IBC Services for BRANY. “In serving as an IRB member and Quality Assurance auditor, he has been dedicated to ensuring that investigators conduct research in compliance with federal regulations and ethical guidelines. Researchers and research participants will be well-served with Michael serving as the Chairman of BRANY SBER IRB.”
BRANY started the SBER IRB in 2016 in response to an unmet need identified by social, behavioral, and education researchers. Common feedback from this group of researchers centered on the fact that most IRB processes and procedures were rooted in biomedical research which often did not align with the needs of social and behavioral researchers. The issues in social-behavioral research are distinct from biomedical research in a variety of critical ways, and need the review of experts in the relevant fields. Research protocols can include graduate student dissertations, research outside the U.S., as well as focus groups.
Dr. Belotto serves as a research compliance expert responsible for auditing sites to ensure investigators’ compliance with FDA regulations and ethical guidelines. He will continue to serve as a member of BRANY IRB in addition to chairing the SBER IRB.
Dr. Belotto worked as a paramedic in the New York City Emergency Medical Service 9-1-1 system for 10 years, with 7 years of experience in Hospital Administration.
Dr. Belotto is a graduate of New York Medical College where he completed a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology. He completed his doctorate in Public Health at Walden University.
The SBER IRB is part of BRANY’s Connected IRB model, which helps maintain an ongoing connection among investigators, institutions and the IRB, by promoting communication with key stakeholders. This includes email alerts for investigators and research coordinators as well as specific alerts for critical concerns such as unanticipated problems involving risks to subjects or others.
