Sarah Fowler-Dixon

Education Specialist and instructor , Washington University

Sarah Fowler-Dixon, PhD, CIP is Education Specialist and instructor with Washington University School of Medicine. She has developed a comprehensive education program for human subject research which has served as a model for other institutions. She crafted budgets, policies, procedures, reporting, and training for the new program. She has initiated the planning, development, authorship and implementation of many human subjects research policies, practices, guidelines, submission and reviewer forms often working with state and federal authorities.

She has provided consultation regarding ethical, federal, state, and institutional requirements for faculty and staff both in the design and execution of their projects and teaches research ethics and regulatory affairs and the fundamentals of research management to graduate and undergraduate students. More recently, she lead a task force in the development of the Community Engaged Research Program at Washington University. Dr. Fowler-Dixon has simultaneously served as an Independent Consultant, providing expertise and creating supplemental educational materials, including a copyrighted workbook.

Prior to joining Washington University, Dr. Fowler-Dixon was the Educational Development and Learning Specialist for Saint Louis University serving on various committees to improve research, procedures, community outreach, and retention.


  • Recorded Webinars

Sarah Fowler-Dixon

Assurances: What are they, Why and When do I need them

The Federal wide Assurance is required for NIH funded studies. It is a written assurance filed with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) that outlines under which terms a study will be reviewed, approved, and conducted. This document, signed by the Institutional Official, sets forth certain requirements that must be upheld by an institution who has filed such an agreement. One of the terms deals with written agreements for non-affiliated investigators and institutions.

Sarah Fowler-Dixon

Issues with Consent Documents

The consent document tends to be the source of much frustration for both research participants, research team members, and the IRB reviewers who must review and approve the document and process before it is implemented. Although the regulations default to a written consent document, consent is more than just a document, it is a process.

Sarah Fowler-Dixon

What is a Serious Adverse Events and how do I handle these?

When conducting clinical trials it is important to understand and be able to identify serious adverse events (SAE). These are events that are serious, likely related to the study drug, device, treatment or procedure, and increase risks to participants or others.

Sarah Fowler-Dixon

Clinical Trial Recruitment Methods and Metrics

Recruitment of research participants into clinical trials is critical. As the trials are designed for human subjects or use of a person's private identifiable information, a human subject's research study cannot occur with people. Yet, enrollment issues continue to be one of the reasons why trials are held open longer than anticipated and why modifications to the study are needed to increase enrollment.

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