Growing Research Integrity Together 2018
Speakers’ Biographies
(in order of appearance)

Sam Gannon, EdD, Director, Vanderbilt Program in Research Administration Development and
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Medical Center,
Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Gannon is the director of the Vanderbilt Program in Research Administration Development, a
nationally known program to education administrative, clinical and other research staff members in
the best practices in administration of and compliance in sponsored research programs. His work
focuses on strategies that facilitate learning and professional development for faculty, staff and
students. Dr. Gannon’s research addresses program evaluations and program needs assessments
for educational programs in higher education. He has been principal investigator of a sponsored
research project to examine academic medical centers as learning organizations, and coordinated
research administration training for international investigators sponsored by the Department of
State. Dr. Gannon teaches the Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity the Vanderbilt University
School of Medicine’s Masters of Clinical Research Investigation program and related short-term
training through the Vanderbilt Institute of Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR). He
developed VICTR’s training in Team Science and Vanderbilt Linkage’s online program Getting
Started in Sponsored Research. Dr. Gannon received his EdD with a concentration in Higher
Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
www.vanderbilt.linkages.org

Elizabeth Heitman, PhD, Professor, Program in Ethics in Science and Medicine, University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Elizabeth Heitman is an educator and researcher in research ethics, research integrity, and
responsible conduct of research. She has written extensively on research ethics education, clinical
and research ethics consultation, and responsible conduct of research, especially in international
contexts. She is co-Principal Investigator of an NIH Fogarty International Center-sponsored research
ethics education grant in Mozambique, co-Investigator on two research training programs in
cardiovascular health disparities sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and
head of the Ethics component of the UT Southwestern Center for Translational Medicine’s Research
Methods Core. Dr. Heitman is past chair of the former national CTSA consortium’s clinical research
ethics key function committee and is active in the national CTSA-based Clinical Research Ethics
Consultation Collaborative. A member of the Board on Life Sciences of the National Academy of
Sciences, she has chaired and participated in projects on international faculty development in
research integrity, research with laboratory animals, and research on countermeasures to
bioterrorism agents. Dr. Heitman received her PhD in Religious Studies, specializing in Medical
Ethics, from the joint program between Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston.
Conflicts of interest: Dr. Heitman’s husband, James M. Berry, is the president and majority owner of
the privately held Anesthetic Gas Reclamation, Inc., which has no relation to the presentations here.
https://profiles.utsouthwestern.edu/profile/166170/elizabeth-heitman.html

 Daniel R. Vasgird, PhD, CIP, Research Integrity and Compliance Consultant, Lincoln, Nebraska
and Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of Epidemiology, West Virginia University School
of Public Health, Morgantown, West Virginia
Daniel Vasgird is a research compliance/integrity professional with three decades of experience in
public, private and nonprofit environments. Recently retired as the Director of Office of Research
Integrity & Compliance for West Virginia University, he is Associate Professor Emeritus of
Epidemiology in the WVU School of Public Health. In his previous work as the Director of the Office
for Research Compliance Services for University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Office for Responsible
Conduct of Research for Columbia University, and Research Compliance Officer for City University
of New York, Dr. Vasgird developed policy and administrative frameworks for research integrity and
education programs in responsible conduct of research. He speaks and writes on policy
development, planning, evaluation, human research protection, budget, staff relations and legislative
coordination for academic research, and particularly on the important role of research administrators
in promoting research integrity. Dr. Vasgird is a Certified IRB Professional, a member of SRA
International, and a member of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Executive
Advisory Committee. He received his PhD in Social Psychology from Syracuse University.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.

Wanda Jones, DrPH, Interim Director, Office of Research Integrity, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Rockville, Maryland
Wanda Jones is the Interim Director, Office of Research Integrity, and Senior Advisor to the
Assistant Secretary for Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. She recently completed a 14-month detail in the
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, where she led development of
the HHS 2017 update to the Pandemic Influenza Plan, and the policy framework for the
Department’s implementation of its authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Dr.
Jones was previously the HHS Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (PDASH), a position
she held since November 2009. As the PDASH, Dr. Jones oversaw ORI operations and was the
signing official on voluntary settlement agreements on research misconduct findings. Dr. Jones
began her public health career leading domestic and international laboratory training efforts in
HIV/AIDS testing at the CDC. She moved to health and science policy in the 1990s, establishing
the CDC’s Office of Women’s Health, and subsequently leading the HHS Office on Women’s
Health. Dr. Jones received her doctorate in Public Health Laboratory Practice from the University of
North Carolina.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
https://ori.hhs.gov/meet-directors

Kyle Galbraith, PhD, Ethicist, Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center, Athens, Georgia
Kyle Galbraith is an ethicist and specialist in the protection of human participants in research, with a
strong background in teaching research ethics and research integrity in graduate science education
and continuing education programs. As the former manager of Human Subject Protection at the
Carle Foundation in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, he oversaw the Carle Foundation’s Human
Subject Protection Program and Institutional Review Board and maintained AAHRPP accreditation
standards while supporting the expansion of the Hospital’s research activities with the University of
Illinois (UI) at Urbana-Champaign. He subsequently served as UI’s research integrity officer,

 developing and maintaining institutional policies to promote research integrity and developing
responsible conduct of research education for investigators and trainees across the institution. He
written on what happens to investigators’ after being found guilty of misconduct and how terms of
service for social medial platforms may provide little in the way of ethical safeguards when used for
research. Dr. Galbraith received his PhD in Ethics and Theology biomedical ethics from Vanderbilt
University’s Graduate Division of Religion.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.

Brian Martinson PhD, Senior Research Investigator at HealthPartners Institute and Associate
Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Brian Martinson is a researcher and regular speaker on research integrity who since 2001 has led
a series of federally-funded research projects on research integrity. As co-PI with Dr. Carol
Thrush, he co-led a study developing and assessing the validity and reliability of a survey
instrument to evaluate research integrity climates in academic research organizations, which
resulted in a tool called the Survey of Organizational Climate (SOuRCe). As PI, he recently
completed a 3-year project with funding from the VA HSR&D conducting a randomized controlled
trial using the SOuRCe to test the efficacy of a reporting and feedback intervention to improve
research integrity climates in VA research settings. In 2009-2010, he served on an invited expert
panel on research integrity convened by the Council of Canadian Academies, leading to the
report, Honesty, Accountability and Trust: Fostering Research Integrity in Canada. From 2012 to
2017, Brian served as a member of a U.S. National Academies ad hoc panel chartered by
COSEMPUP, which published Fostering Integrity in Research in April 2017. Dr. Martinson received
his PhD in sociology and demography from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
https://www.healthpartners.com/institute/about/bios/brian-martinson-phd/

Carol Thrush, EdD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Graduate Medical Education,
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas
Carol Thrush a medical educator based in the Surgery Department at the University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences, in Little Rock, AR. For the past 25 years she has worked in academic
healthcare settings and has published more than 60 scientific journal articles spanning educational,
social and behavioral sciences, health services, and medical education research domains. Since
2007, Dr. Thrush has worked closely with Dr. Brian Martinson and colleagues in multiple research
and educational initiatives to develop, evaluate and refine the content and psychometric
characteristics of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOURCE). As a collaborator
with the National Center for Professional & Research Ethics (NCPRE) in the College of
Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she studies and promotes improved
research practice in university and private settings. Dr. Thrush holds BA and MA degrees in
Psychology from the University of West Florida and a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership
and Faculty Development from University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
https://uams-triprofiles.uams.edu/profiles/display/1559223

 Debra Schaller-Demers, MSOM, Director, Research Outreach and Compliance, Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Debbie Schaller-Demers is Director of Research Outreach and Compliance at Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center, where she develops and oversees a quality assurance program to
ensure compliance with federal/state, external sponsor, and institutional regulations pertaining to
grants and contracts management requirements associated with the responsible conduct of
research (RCR). As RCR Course Director, she also develops and oversees programs to educate
and train the Memorial Sloan Kettering research community in the responsible conduct of research
and other policies, procedures, and initiatives. Ms. Schaller-Demers oversees mechanisms for the
Research and Technology Management division to communicate effectively and to provide timely
information in support of research activities. She also administers policies and procedures that deal
with issues of research integrity, compliance, and administration, as well as external outreach
initiatives. She serves as a non-scientist member of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee and as the administrative contact for the Tri-Institutional
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. She has published on research integrity
issues and is an active and award-winning member of the Society of Research Administrators
(SRA) International. She also serves as Editor of the e-newsletter SRA Catalyst.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
https://www.mskcc.org/profile/debra-schaller-demers

Lida Anestidou, DVM, PhD, Senior Program Officer, Institute for Laboratory Animal Research and
Director, OIE Collaborating Centre on Laboratory Animal Science and Welfare, Program Director,
International Initiatives on Responsible Science, The National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC
Lida Anestidou is senior program officer at the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she directs a diverse portfolio of
studies on the use of laboratory animals, biodefense and biosecurity, and research integrity and
responsible conduct of research, as well as directing the Roundtable on Science and Welfare in
Laboratory Animal Use. She directs NASEM’s international program on responsible science,
leading educational institutes in the Middle East and North Africa and Southeast and South Asia,
as well as its One Health program in Pakistan and East Africa. She is an editorial board member of
Science and Engineering Ethics, Lab Animal, and SciTech Lawyer and a member of the National
Conference of Lawyers and Scientists. Dr. Anestidou received her DVM from the From the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki School of Veterinary Medicine, MSc in Veterinary Sciences from the
University of Florida, and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Texas Health
Science Center at Houston.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
http://dels.nas.edu/global/ilar/Staff

Sergio Litewka, MD, MPH Director, International Program and Associate Research Professor,
Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
Sergio Litewka is the director of global bioethics at the University of Miami Institute of Bioethics, a
World Health Organization (WHO) on Ethics and Health Policies, as well as a faculty member in
the UM Department of Surgery. Dr. Litewka’s work focuses on the development of research and
education activities with governmental organizations, universities and the private sector on human
subject protection and the responsible conduct of research. He is a frequent speaker on issues in

 research ethics and integrity across Latin America. In Asia, Dr. Litewka is a regular speaker for
research integrity topics at Sri Ramachandra University (Chennai, India) and Tokyo University
(Tokyo, Japan). He is the International Director for the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative
(CITI Program), a web based initiative for research ethics and responsible conduct of research
education and was previously directed the Institute’s Pan American Bioethics Initiative, funded by
the NIH Fogarty International Center. In 2011 he served as a member of the International
Research Panel at the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethics Issues. Dr. Litewka
completed his medical degree at the University of Buenos Aires and his master’s in public health at
the University of El Salvador, also in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts to disclose.
https://ethics.miami.edu/about/people/faculty/main-faculty/sergio-litewka/index.html