As Duke Eye Center’s research portfolio has become more complex and multidimensional, the department of ophthalmology will take a different approach to manage and plan that domain. To address emerging Research Quality initiatives and Institutional and Sponsor requirements, the department of Ophthalmology has established the Duke Eye Center Research Council. This council will guide the department’s development, communication, and execution of the Research Quality Management Plan, Clinical Quality Management Plan, and all other department, School of Medicine, and/or Institutional research initiatives. Council members will consist of the Research Quality Team (RQT), Clinical Research Unit (CRU) Leadership, appointed Research Faculty, and Administration.
The goal of this council will be to address emerging high priority issues, develop and direct the research mission of the department of Ophthalmology, and to guide escalated issues requiring corrective actions to include the development of action plans and/or follow up from central research regulatory and administrative offices.
Cynthia Toth, MD will Chair the Council and serve as the Director for Clinician Scientists and Translational Research. She will also ensure that faculty and staff engaged in research attest to the Scientific Culture & Accountability Plan and successfully complete required corrective actions. Toth has a wealth of experience in research which will be very valuable in this role.
Scott Cousins, MD is assuming the role as Vice Chair for Strategic planning. The VC for Strategy’s core duty is to assist the Chair, Departmental Administration and faculty leaders to develop strategic vision(s), develop "reduce to practice" plans and assist implementation for various programmatic goals involving either/or both the clinical practice mission and the academic mission.