Assistant Vice President
Research Integrity Officer
Adjunct Instructor, Department of Bioethics, School of Medicine
Area of Focus: Research Integrity — conducting research with objectivity, accuracy, honesty, and efficiency.
Tracy Wilson-Holden’s work as Case Western Reserve University’s research integrity officer bridges her teaching interests with a steadfast commitment to ethical research conduct.
Through an educational approach, her team strives to create an environment where research integrity—the objective, accurate, honest and efficient conduct of research—is not just a requirement, but a shared value.
“We will always work with people to get a project aligned appropriately so that it can be done,” Wilson-Holden said. “If we have to do something to make somebody get in line with proper regulations and proper procedures, of course we’ll do that. But our job across all our compliance areas (or units) is to teach people how to do it right.”
With nearly 20 years of experience in CWRU research administration, Wilson-Holden has become an expert at finding an appropriate, compliant path.
She directs the human subjects research and responsible conduct of research training programs, and oversees the work of the Conflict of Interests committee and the Research Security Program.
Wilson-Holden is committed to guiding researchers toward ethical, transparent scientific conduct not only at Case Western Reserve, but also nationwide, serving as the vice president for the Association of Research Integrity Officers.
As a consultant for the federal Office of Research Integrity, she serves on the planning committee for its national conference.
This year’s National Conference on Research Integrity will explore how to improve the culture of research environments and “How can we change incentive structures in institutions and funding agencies to align better with producing good quality research with integrity?” she said
Wilson-Holden constantly seeks new ways to engage and train researchers about research integrity. She’s conducted research exploring how mentoring and leadership can support responsible research culture, and is drafting a training module with some of the insights she gained from that study.
“How do we help our faculty members make sure that they are not only themselves conducting research with integrity, but that they are leading their group to do so?” she said. “It’s (about) communicating effectively and understanding what it means to lead well, using actual research-driven strategies to improve the way faculty are leading in the lab.”