Association for the Accreditation
of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. ®

Education, News & Events: Press Releases

AAHRPP Awards Accreditation to Purdue University

Sep 17, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 17, 2019―The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs today announced that it has awarded full accreditation to The Trustees of Purdue University. 

The public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, joins more than 600 AAHRPP-accredited entities worldwide. All have demonstrated that they adhere to high standards for research and have built extensive safeguards into every level of their research operation. 

“Every accreditation brings us closer to achieving our goal of having one standard worldwide for quality research, including the strongest possible protections for research participants,” AAHRPP President and CEO Elyse I. Summers said. “Purdue adds another top U.S. research university to the ranks of AAHRPP-accredited organizations, which now include all but one of the fourteen members of the Big Ten Conference of institutions.” 

AAHRPP accreditation provides an independent, objective assessment—and validation—of an organization’s human research protection program. That’s especially valuable in today’s global research enterprise. 

“Research has become a collaborative effort, conducted at multiple sites by multiple organizations,” Summers said. “More and more, research organizations are relying on AAHRPP accreditation status to help them identify trusted partners who share a commitment to put research participants first and insist on high-quality, ethical research.” 

AAHRPP has accredited organizations across the United States and in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and Thailand.

All major U.S. independent institutional review boards have earned AAHRPP accreditation. In addition, more than 70% of U.S. medical colleges and 85% of the top National Institutes of Health-funded academic medical centers are either AAHRPP accredited or have begun the accreditation process. NIH, the world’s largest public funder of research, has earned accreditation, as has Pfizer, Inc., the largest industry sponsor of clinical research.

About AAHRPP: A nonprofit organization, AAHRPP provides accreditation for organizations that conduct or review human research and can demonstrate that their protections exceed the safeguards required by the U.S. government. To learn more, visit www.aahrpp.org.