Clark J. Lee '14, a current PhD candidate in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health (SPH), was appointed to a four-year term as vice-chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) on July 1, 2021. Clark has served as a member of the MDH IRB since 2007 and looks forward to using his graduate training at SPH to inform his continuing work on the IRB.
The MDH IRB is responsible for reviewing and approving all proposed research projects involving human subjects that occur in any MDH facility or involve any MDH program. The MDH IRB reviews all human subject research projects that involve federal, state or other funds available from or through MDH, patients or clients of MDH, data held or compiled by or for MDH and employees of MDH or students in residency programs at MDH who conduct research as a function of their employment or training. The primary purpose of IRBs in general is to protect the rights and dignity of individuals who volunteer to participate in human subject research.
Clark received his MPH in behavioral and community health in 2014. He is an emergency preparedness consultant for the UMD Center for Health and Homeland Security and works with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services planning for public health emergencies like the Covid-19 pandemic.