Chapter News
2009 MN ACRP Officer Election Results
From 2008 MN ACRP Board of Directors
December 2008
The 2008 MN ACRP Board of Directors thank you for a great year and for helping us build a strong new 2009 MN ACRP team! Here is the final list of officers on the 2009 Executive Board. Also included below is the list of Committee Chairs and Committee Members. If you would like to serve on one of the committees during 2009 (or if we somehow missed putting your name on this list), please let Nancy Sinnett know, 
e-mail. We welcome your participation!
2009 MN ACRP Executive Board Members:
- President: Nancy Stinnett
- Vice President/President Elect: Paul Below
- Secretary: Pam Pawloski
- Treasurer: Andrea Metzig
- Immediate Past President: Joy Frestedt
2009 MN ACRP Committees
- Membership Committee Co-Chairs: Karen Hartman & Pamela Wolfe
Member: Bob Bailey
- Communications Committee Chair/Webmaster: Paul Below
Member: Carol Kramer
- Marketing Committee Co-Chairs: Shankar Srinivasan & Stacy Majestic
Members: Mary Ann Elder, Lisa Albers
- Programming Committee Co-Chairs: Brenda Kirpach & Denise Windenburg
Members: Sue Logan, Colleen Holthe, Frank Freedman, Marlene LaMoure
Urbach, Carrie McNabb, Lorry Witte
- Hospitality Committee Co-Chairs: Alicia Bettman & Chou Eyberg
Member: Patt Carlson
MN ACRP Hosts November 2008 Symposium "Teaming-Up to do Clinical Research"
From Programming Committee
November 2008
On November 22, the MN ACRP hosted the half-day symposium, "Teaming-Up" to do Clinical Research: What it takes to put it all together. 98 people attended including 76 chapter members. The speakers were Tom Kuhn, Owner of Qnity, Inc, (KEY NOTE): Getting Your Team on the Same Page, One Page at a Time; Karen Margolis, MD, senior clinical investigator at Health Partners Research Foundation: What makes a Successful Clinical Research Team: A PI’s Perspective; Jeffrey Probstfield, MD, Director of Clinical Trials Service Unit and Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the University of Washington, School of Medicine: Lesson Learned: Adherence and Retention of Participants in Long-term Trials; and Chuck Swanson, Director of Business Development, Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP): The Powerful Role of Outreach and Education. To view their presentations, go to the Past Presentations page.
Special thanks to the volunteers who helped put on this excellent event including Brenda Kirpach (event co-chair), Denise Windenburg (event co-chair), Andrea Metzig, Nancy Stinnett, Pamala Pawloski, Lorry Witte, Pamela Wolfe, Karen Hartman, and Paul Below.
MN ACRP is Seeking Nominations for 2009 Board of Directors and Committee Chairs
From Lorry Witte, MN ACRP Immediate Past President and Nominations Committee Chair
November 2008
MN ACRP needs your help to build a strong 2009 Board of Director Team!
The Nominations Committee is taking nominations for Vice President (President Elect) - 3 year commitment, Secretary - 1 year, and Treasurer - 1 year. The deadline for nominations is November 26th. View the Chapter Bylaws for a description of the Board Member Job Responsibilities. E-mail any questions, interest, nominations, and a brief biography (for the ballot) to Lorry Witte, RN, BA, CCRC, CCRA, e-mail. We look forward to hearing from you!
ACRP Announces New Fees for Contact Hours for Chapter Events in 2009
From the Global ACRP Headquarters
October 2008
ACRP has approved a new policy to collect a fee for all ACRP provided contact hours including contact hours obtained via chapter events. Beginning January 2009, all ACRP chapters will be implementing this new policy by including a minimal charge for attendees to obtain contact hours from chapter events. Please note that this is a Global ACRP policy change and all local ACRP chapters are required to comply.
The new fee for contact hours will be determined by the quantity of hours offered at the event and will be collected with the registration fee or on site (NOTE: the MN ACRP has yet to determine how we will collect the fees). The charges for ACRP members will be:
- For events with less than 3 contact hours = $10
- For events with 3-5.99 contact hours = $20
- For events with 6+ contact hours = $30
ACRP notes: "Because we also understand that being able to obtain contact hours is a valuable benefit for chapter members, we have done our best to keep the charge for chapter contact hours the lowest from ACRP. The intent of the new policy is not to limit the participation with chapter educational events, rather to ensure that ACRP has the financial resources to continue to provide these programs. As a non-profit entity, the maintenance and growth of our programs relies on the continued financial support of our members. We hope you continue to take advantage of the quality local education and networking opportunities organized by your local chapter and we thank you for your dedication to the organization and commitment to the profession." For questions or concerns about this new policy, please contact Megan Markowski at ACRP, e-mail.
ACRP is Seeking Presenters for 2009 Webinar Series
From the Global ACRP Headquarters
October 2008
ACRP is looking for experienced volunteer presenters for its 2009 Live Webinar series. Webinars provide brief, focused learning to a worldwide audience in a 100% online platform. ACRP has a successful record with its Webinars. Since September 2007, ACRP has delivered over 30 Webinars attended by an average of 100 individuals each time. For more information on this opportunity, visit the ACRP website. All proposals are due by 5 pm Eastern Time on Monday, November 3, 2008.
Medical Device Alliance Renews Website Sponsorship
By Paul Below, Communications Committee
October 2008
Thank you to the Medical Device Alliance for their continued support of MN ACRP through their sponsorship of our website. To learn more about the Medical Device Alliance, visit their website at www.mfrall.com.
President's Message
By Joy Frestedt, PhD, RAC, CCTI
September 2008
If I have not yet met you, please seek me out at any of the meetings listed to the right and let’s get to know each other. If you are interested to work on a chapter committee or as a chapter officer, please let me know and we will get you connected to the right group so you can become more active in this wonderful group of professionals. You can find my email address in the chapter representatives section of this website and thank you for your interest.
We are growing and I am so very proud that we will have our THIRD annual Fall seminar on such a great topic ‘Teaming-Up’ to do Clinical Research – just look at those phenomenal speakers: Tom Kuhn (Keynote Address)- “Getting Your Team on the Same Page, One Page at a Time," Ken Getz - “HERO campaign: Restoring Public Trust and Confidence in Clinical Research: The Powerful Role of Outreach and Education,” Dr. Jeff Probstfield - “ Lesson Learned: Adherence and Retention of Participants in Long-term Trials,” and Dr. Karen Margolis- "What makes a Successful Clinical Research Team: A PI’s Perspective".
This is your chance to get to know some real heavy weight thinkers in the world of clinical research. Please join me and our entire MN ACRP team in welcoming Tom, Ken, Jeff and Karen to our fall event on November 22nd – this promises to be a really special event!
Best wishes, Joy
MN ACRP Hosts September 2008 Program on Liability Issues with Clinical Trials
By LeAnn Anderson, Programming Committee
September 2008
At MN ACRP’s September 18, 2008 program, a large audience of clinical research professionals heard regulatory attorney Robert Klepinski, who is an Officer with Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., describe three major types of liability associated with clinical trials. Mr. Klepinski, who counsels pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech, food and nutritional supplement companies on FDA policy, discussed the areas of product liability, warranty and malpractice; criminal risk related to payments from sponsors to medical providers; and sponsor risk for assuming the first payer role as a health insurer in the case of injuries due to a clinical study. He illustrated each type of liability with cases and offered preventive strategies for sponsors and investigators.
ACRP members from Duluth attended via audio conference. Very special thanks to Sheryl Sturm and the Minnesota Heart Clinic staff at the Minnesota Heart and Vascular Center in Edina for their warm hospitality.
View his presentation (NOTE: Mr. Klepinski's slides are available on our web site for your educational use to supplement the live presentation. These copyrighted slides are not to be copied for any commercial purpose. You may not copy or use them, other than as an aid in your understanding the subject matter of our class).
MN ACRP Hosts February 2008 Program on Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials from a Site Perspective
From the Programming Committee
March 2008
At MN ACRP’s February 21, 2008 program, clinical research professionals heard Harvey M. Arbit, BS, PharmD, MBA, RPh, RAC, CCRP, Director, IND/IDE Assistance Program, Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota talk about Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials from a site perspective. This well attended, interactive presentation included Good Clinical Practice (GCP), IND and IDE regulations which site personnel need to know before conducting investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials.
At the conclusion of Mr. Arbit’s presentation, participants knew whether or not they should be an IND or IDE sponsor-investigator, understood the regulatory obligations of a sponsor-investigator, and knew what to do if the FDA shows up for an inspection of a investigator-initiated study. It was very apparent that Mr. Arbit is an expert on the topic by the way he fielded several audience questions. Special thanks to Nancy Stinnett, MN ACRP Vice President, and the Minnesota Gastroenterology Corporate Office located in St. Paul for hosting this first 2008 program of the year.
MN ACRP Awarded "Outstanding Chapter" at 2005 ACRP Annual North American Conference
By Paul Below, Communications Committee
September 2005
The Minnesota Chapter was awarded the Outstanding Chapter Award at the 2005 ACRP Annual North American Conference & Exposition in Orlando, FL on April 2-6. The following excerpt on the award was published in September 2005 Issue of The Monitor:
"The Outstanding Chapter Award is given to an ACRP chapter that participates in ACRP activities, organizes chapter events, and recruits 
new members to the chapter. This Chapter is considered instrumental for implementing change at the ACRP association global office level for the improvement of services provided to ACRP chapter members.
The Minnesota Chapter is the 2005 recipient of the Outstanding Chapter Award, and is ACRP’s first repeat winner of this award. Over the past year, the chapter hosted an evening networking event and six evening educational programs on a wide range of topics that attracted a diverse audience commensurate with its membership demographics. Officers are active participants in the ACRP Chapter Chairs Conference calls and always willing to give advice and guidance to other chapters that are just starting out.
In addition, the chapter continues to be a leading innovator in the area of its Web site which is an important resource for communicating with the clinical research community and providing revenue for the chapter through job posting fees. Chapter President Donna Godejohn, BSN, accepted the award on behalf of the Chapter."
Join a MN ACRP Committee
By MN ACRP Board of Directors
If you are interested in playing an active role on a MN ACRP committee, contact any of the Chapter Representatives. Get involved and help MN ACRP benefit its members and the clinical research community.
