Working together for children with cancer

April 1, 2010
Joffe appointed to federal committee

Steven Joffe, MD, MPH

Steven Joffe, MD, MPH

Steven Joffe, MD, MPH, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at Dana-Farber and Children's Hospital Boston, was recently appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections. This 11-member committee advises the secretary on all issues related to research, ethics, and regulation, such as best practices in informed consent, the process in which a patient learns about and understands the purpose, risks, and benefits of a clinical trial before agreeing to participate in it, and obligations for sharing discoveries with research subjects.

Joffe's work focuses on the ethical challenges of human subject research, particularly pediatric research ethics, cancer clinical trials, ethical aspects of research design, and conflict of interest. For example, if a parent approves the storage of a child's tumor in a research tissue bank, when the child becomes an adult, do researchers need to reconsent to use the tissue for research?

Susan Kornetsky, director of Clinical Research Compliance at Children's Hospital, and a former member of the committee, says Joffe's pediatric experience makes him a good choice for the appointment as someone who can raise flags regarding the differences in adult and pediatric research.

Others agree. "Pediatric representation on federal oversight committees is critical to providing the perspective of both pediatrics and academic medical centers that focus on childhood diseases in government decisions," says David Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and director of Translational Research at Children's Hospital. "In many cases, the representation provides a unique point of view that is important in advocating for measures that facilitate the interests of the family as a whole and research into pediatric conditions."

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