Director and Deputy Research Integrity Officer
Emory University
Maria Davila is the Director of the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC) at Emory University and serves as the Deputy Research Integrity Officer (RIO). As the Director of Emory’s ORIC, she oversees the compliance plans for the different HRPP offices and provides education to the research community. She is in charge of the team that reviews allegations of research misconduct, assisting the RIO in this process. Previously, Maria was the Associate Director for the Emory IRB and worked in this office for 11 years. At the IRB, Maria led the Educations and Quality Assurance team to review reportable events submitted to the IRB. Maria was instrumental in developing several guidance documents and worksheets, improving the internal SOPs system to improve staff effectiveness and efficiency. She improved the education offerings by creating new tools and implementing monthly webinars to provide the Emory research community with up-to-date information. Before joining ORIC and the Emory IRB, Maria worked in Orthopaedics Research at the University of Miami and Emory University for eight years. During this time, Maria worked in a diverse range of studies, going from minimal risk studies up to Phase I-IV clinical trials, helped develop quality assurance procedures, and was the microsurgery instructor for residents and fellows. Maria has a foreign medical degree from Ecuador, and a Masters’s in Bioethics from Emory University.