Raffaella Hart, BS, CIP, CIM - Director of IRB

Raffaella Hart is the Director of the BRANY Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB staff. She directs multiple committees in the review of new and ongoing research projects. Her main responsibilities include implementation of Federal regulations and institutional policies and procedures for the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects. Along with the IRB staff, she assures accurate and effective documentation of IRB meetings and decisions, and maintains database files and correspondence for all BRANY research projects in compliance with applicable regulations.

Prior to BRANY, Ms. Hart was an Administrative Director for medical practices and several hospitals throughout the tri-state region at Financial Medical Management.

Ms. Hart is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton with a Bachelor of Science in
Psychobiology and is a certified IRB Professional.

Portia M. Rindos, RN, CCRC, CCRA -
Director of Quality Improvement and Auditing

Portia Rindos is Director of our Quality Improvement team. Her responsibilities include auditing for regulatory compliance and GCP, monitoring of pharmaceutical, investigator-initiated and NIH trials. She is an expert in FDA regulations, ICH, OHRP and GCP. She is also a member of the BRANY Institutional Review Board. Ms. Rindos is an RN for over 25 years, including 12 years as a Clinical Research Coordinator and Clinical Research Associate. She is a former Nursing Care Coordinator for a Cardiothoracic Telemetry unit and Assistant Nursing Care Coordinator for an Intensive Care Unit.

Ms. Rindos graduated with honors from Molloy College in 1977 with a BSN. She has co-authored on several publications resulting from clinical research.

Michael Belotto, MPH, CCRC, CCRA - Director, BRANY Institute of Research Education

Michael Belotto is the Director of the BRANY Institute of Research Education. He also serves as a research compliance expert responsible for auditing sites to ensure investigators and investigator staff compliance with ethical and clinical guidelines and FDA regulations. He also serves on the BRANY Institutional Review Board.

Mr. Belotto was a paramedic in the New York City Emergency Medical Service for 10 years, with 7 years of experience in Hospital Administration.

Mr. Belotto is a graduate of New York Medical College where he completed a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Michelle Turchiano-Rodriguez, CIP, CIM - Assistant IRB Department Manager

Michelle Turchiano-Rodriguez is an IRB Coordinator for the BRANY Institutional Review Board. Her primary responsibility is processing new project submissions, as well as coordinating and follow-up of IRB meetings. Ms. Rodriguez ensures submissions are processed in accordance with the applicable regulations, and she assists in documentation of IRB decisions through maintenance of database files and relevant correspondence.

Prior to BRANY, Ms. Rodriguez spent two years at an executive recruiting firm in Midtown NYC, where she started as Data Entry Clerk and ended her term as Office Manager. She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics/Accounting.

Urvashi Arora - IRB Coordinator

Urvashi Arora joined BRANY in July 2005 as an Associate IRB Coordinator. In June 2006, she took on the role of Project Coordinator to perform internal audits in conjunction with the BRANY IRB Standard Operating Procedures to ensure regulatory compliance, as well as oversaw the administration of BRANY's Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs), which review projects involving recombinant DNA and gene transfer.

Currently, Ms. Arora works as an IRB Coordinator, focusing on new project submissions. She ensures these submissions are processed in accordance with applicable regulations and assists in documentation of IRB decisions through maintenance of database files and relevant correspondence.

Ms. Arora has a Master's degree in Psychology from Adelphi University and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Stony Brook University. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Public Administration from New York University with a specialization in Health Policy and Management.

Christopher Holman - IRB Coordinator

Christopher Holman is an IRB coordinator for the BRANY Institutional Review Board. As a coordinator, Mr. Holman assists the IRB in facilitating the ethical conduct of research in human subjects, reviews research applications, and presents any discrepancies to the research staff. His responsibilities are managing IRB meeting agendas, ensuring timely analysis of reviews for new and ongoing research projects, and facilitating the communication across committee members, sponsors, investigators, and their research staff. Prior to BRANY, Mr. Holman was a staff sergeant in the US Air Force and recently returned home from deployment to Afghanistan. Mr. Holman is a graduate of Delaware Valley College with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

Melissa Robilotto - IRB Coordinator

Melissa Robilotto is an IRB Coordinator for the BRANY Institutional Review Board. Ms. Robilotto began her career at BRANY as an IRB Assistant in August of 2005, and became an IRB Meeting Specialist soon after. Her primary responsibilities now focus on ensuring modifications to previously approved research are processed efficiently and in accordance with applicable regulations. Ms. Robilotto assists in documentation of IRB expedited review decisions through maintenance of the IRB database and relevant correspondence.

Ms. Robilotto is a graduate of John Jay College with a Justice Studies degree. Her focus was on the protection of human rights.

Erika Jorquera - Associate IRB Coordinator

Erika Jorquera is an Associate IRB Coordinator for the BRANY Institutional Review Board. Her primary responsibility is processing applications for continuing review. Ms. Jorquera ensures timely and substantive continuing review of ongoing research by the IRB, and she assists in documentation of IRB decisions through maintenance of database files and relevant correspondence. Erika is also fluent in Spanish.

Ms. Jorquera is a graduate of Nassau Community College with an Associate in Applied Science Office Technology Executive and graduated with honors from SUNY College at Old Westbury with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language, Hispanic Literature and Culture.