AAHRPP Accredits ACTIVATO, Third Organization in Japan

Nineteen more organizations attain reaccreditation

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Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs

Sep 24, 2025, 17:49 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs has awarded full accreditation to ACTIVATO of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The nonprofit independent institutional review board is the third research organization in Japan to commit to AAHRPP's standards for research ethics and protections.

ACTIVATO serves as the research ethics review board for seven university hospitals in the Tohoku region: Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Akita University School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University Hospital, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Tohoku University of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Tohoku University Hospital. The IRB reviews clinical trials within and outside Japan.

"In today's global research enterprise, AAHRPP accreditation is more important and more impactful than ever," AAHRPP President and CEO Elyse Summers said. "With 600+ accredited entities around the world, AAHRPP's standards play a key role in safeguarding research participants and advancing high-quality, ethical research."

AAHRPP also approved reaccreditation of the following:

Organization	Accredited since
• WCG IRB, NC	2003
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MA	2004
• Fox Chase Cancer Center, PA	2004
• University of Minnesota, MN	2004
• Washington University in St. Louis, MO	2004
• Marshall University, WV	2007
• University of Cincinnati, OH	2007
• University of Oklahoma, Board of Regents, OK	2007
• University of Southern California, CA	2007
• Celerion, Inc., NE	2012
• 59th Medical Wing, TX	2017
• Hackensack Meridian Health, NJ	2017
• Sanford, ND	2017
• Van Andel Research Institute, MI	2017
• Adventist Health Glendale, CA	2022
• Phoenix Children's Hospital, Inc., AZ	2022
• Specified Nonprofit Organization Review Board of Human Rights and Ethics for Clinical Studies (HURECS), Japan	2022
• The University of Tennessee, TN	2022
• University of Southern Maine, ME	2022

To earn accreditation and reaccreditation, organizations must demonstrate that they have built extensive safeguards into every level of their research operation, adhere to high standards for research, and are committed to continuous improvement. In today's increasingly collaborative research environment, accreditation status can provide added assurance and a competitive edge.

AAHRPP has accredited research entities across the U.S. and in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. To learn more, visit www.aahrpp.org.