Rachel Lally, MPH, CIP is the Executive Director of the Penn State University Human Research Protection Program. She is responsible for a newly combined team of 27 IRB professionals who manage the oversight of all human subjects research across Penn State’s many campuses, including the College of Medicine. Rachel completed her undergraduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience and Education at Colgate University, earned a Masters degree from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and has over 19 years of experience working in human subjects research.

Like many IRB professionals, Rachel fell into IRB work early in her research career. When the grant money supporting her research coordinator position ran out as the tuition benefits of a university job became clear, Rachel found herself working for the IRB to pay for grad school. Three years and one MPH later she was not only done with school but also on her way to becoming an IRB expert. Since then Rachel has participated in many local and national meetings related to improving the way IRBs do their work, with a focus on protecting human subjects while moving science forward.