IRB-02 Chair Announcement

Dr. David Norton, Vice President for Research

I am pleased to announce that Kim Walsh-Childers, Ph.D., professor of journalism, has accepted the position of chair of Institutional Review Board (IRB)-02 that reviews non-medical behavioral, social, and educational research, effective July 1, 2023.

Dr. Walsh-Childers has been a member of the IRB since August 2017. As an IRB member she has demonstrated commitment to protecting research subjects, regulatory compliance, and collaborating with researchers to facilitate research within the regulations.  She is committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRB.

Dr. Walsh-Childers received her Ph.D. in mass communication research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined UF as professor of journalism in 1990. With more than 40 research publications, Dr. Walsh-Childers’ research experience includes health communication-related studies funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense. She is the author of “Mass Media and Health: Examining Media Impact on Individuals and the Health Environment” (Routledge, 2017) and has recently co-edited the Palgrave Macmillan Handbook of Science and Health Journalism, which summarizes the research on the content and effects of science and health reporting worldwide. Dr. Walsh-Childers’ research focuses on the impact of health journalism on individual behavior and health policy development. 

Dr. Walsh-Childers succeeds Dr. Ira Fischler, professor of psychology, who has served as IRB chair since February 2003.