Dr. David Jay Weber is currently the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Weber received his Medical Degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1977 and a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University in 1985. He completed his medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1985.
Dr. Weber is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, Critical Care Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. He serves as an Associate Chief Medical Office, Associate Chief Quality Officer, and Medical Director of Infection Prevention for the UNC Medical Center. He is the President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Associate Editor of Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. He is an associate editor of the journal Vaccine. Dr. Weber has published more than 575 scientific papers in the peer-reviewed literature cited in PubMed and more than 700 total papers and chapters. He is a member of the CDC Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and on the following working groups: National Health Surveillance Network (Chair), Dental Water Lines (Chair), and Occupational Health for Healthcare personnel. Dr. Weber is an expert advisor for Clean Hospitals, Geneva. He chairs the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services‘ Tuberculosis Medical Advisory Committee.
At UNC, Dr. Weber is chair of IRB A, and chairs three Pharmacy Committees. His research interests include the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections, disinfection and sterilization, new and emerging infectious diseases (highly communicable pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, HPAI, newly emerging pathogens including Candida auris), response to biothreats, nontuberculous mycobacteria, control of drug-resistant pathogens, immunization practices, zoonotic diseases, and epidemiology of tuberculosis.
Why were you interested in joining the IRB?
I have always felt ethics is critically important to research and clinical medicine. I’m also a member of the UNC Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) and the Carolina Data Warehouse for Health (CDW-H) oversight committee. In the past, I was the Director of the TraCS Regulatory Core. I have also been a member of the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.
What was your first IRB meeting like?
Interesting and fun.
What is your favorite part of serving on the IRB at UNC?
Being able to further ethical scientific research to improve patient care.
What is the most common reason your boards defer a study?
Concerns that harms exceed benefits and when the PI fails to provide the required information.
Is there a common problem in research applications that drives you crazy?
Poorly written IRB submissions and informed consent forms.
What is the most interesting ethical dilemma you’ve encountered while serving on the IRB?
The IRB reviewed a study proposal that administered an FDA-approved medication to assess how it builds up in a lower leg nerve. To measure this, the study doctor would surgically remove a section of the nerve, after which the nerve may not regenerate, leaving the participant with a small area of permanent numbness. The IRB members strongly believed this study was unethical because it involved risking permanent nerve damage in healthy volunteers, which they deemed not permissible. The IRB denied the study and wrote the FDA that the study’s requirements were unethical.
What advice do you have for researchers submitting to the IRB for the first time?
Carefully read the instructions and provide all requested information. Write the informed consent at an appropriate education level. Contact the IRB chair ahead of the meeting for any questions.