Greg Koski, PhD, MD

Biography

In December 2002, Dr. Koski, PhD completed a two and a half year leave of absence from Harvard, during which he served as the first Director of the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the James Mongan Institute for Health Policy and Associate Editor of the Journal for Empirical Research in Human Research Ethics (JERHRE).

Dr. Koski received his undergraduate education, PhD, and MD from Harvard. Dr. Koski did post-doctoral work in pharmacology at the National Institutes of Health before returning to the MGH Department of Anesthesia in 1981 to complete residency training and a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesia. He joined the faculty in 1984. During his four decades at Harvard, Dr. Koski has actively participated in every aspect of academic medicine including basic research, clinical investigation, teaching, administration, and patient care. Within the Department of Anesthesia, Dr. Koski is a senior member of the Cardiac Anesthesia Group. He also served as Director of the department’s Henry K. Beecher Memorial Research Laboratories and as Director of Resident Selection and Recruitment. Dr. Koski also served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Studies at MGH (the IRB) before becoming Director of Clinical Research Support and Development, and then Director of Human Research Affairs at the Partners HealthCare System before heading to Washington.

In 2000, Dr. Koski was recruited by then Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala to head the new office, which she created at a time of national upheaval in human research. As director of OHRP, Dr. Koski guided the reorganization of the new office. With Dr. Koski’s leadership, OHRP created its Office for International Activities, promoted accreditation as a means to enhance quality of human research protection programs, and also commissioned the creation of a new program of national Awards for Excellence in Human Research Protections, administered by the Health Improvement Institute. In addition to his duties as director of OHRP, Koski also chaired the Human Subjects Research Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Science at the White House, and served as Executive Secretary of the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee.

Upon his departure from public service, Dr. Koski was recognized with a Superior Service Award from the Department of Health and Human Services. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals and chaired its Committee on Government Relations. He was also elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians, where he was also named Vice-President for Ethics and Professional Conduct before being elected President of what is now known as the Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators. Dr. Koski chairs the Advisory Board of the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity for Ethical Review (SIDCER), an international effort based at the World Health Organization. He also chaired the Ethics Advisory Board for the well-known Framingham Heart Study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Dr. Koski was National Chair of the Research Integrity Project conducted by the Midwest Bioethics Center, and has been an active participant in the Hastings Center for Bioethics study of Conflicts of Interest in Research and works with the Institute of Medicine and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington on a variety of projects intended to enhance integrity and professionalism in research and effective public policy in these important areas.