Matthew Ogrodnik Appointed Director, Joint BUMC/BMC Office of Human Research Affairs

Matthew Ogrodnik has been appointed director of the joint BUMC/BMC Office of Human Research Affairs (OHRA), effective Dec. 24, 2020. Matt replaces Dr. John Ennever, who previously announced he would be stepping down from this role on that day.

Currently director of the joint BUMC/BMC Institutional Review Board (IRB), Matt joined our IRB office in 2012 as an analyst, working with OHRA leadership on the initial development of the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Policies and Procedures. Promoted to IRB Director, he further cultivated a collaborative relationship between the research community and the IRB. He played an important role in the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) accreditation process, which should culminate in our successful reaccreditation in December 2020.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Matt has worked with numerous researchers and institutional stakeholders to quickly and safely activate new therapeutic and observational COVID-19 research and to effectively guide the shift from in-person research interactions to remote platforms. When COVID-19 upended the research community, the IRB focused on helping researchers re-design and modify study procedures to comply with evolving COVID-19-related guidelines to continue human subject research safely during the pandemic.

Matt received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, and his Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Boston University School of Medicine. He has worked in research at BUMC/BMC for his entire professional career. Prior to joining the IRB Matt was a study coordinator for stroke research in the Department of Neurology and a research assistant administering neuropsychological testing at the Framingham Heart Study.