Jennifer C. Scharf-Deering (JC) is the director of the Conflict of Interests Office at Case Western Reserve University. JC has more than 20 years of experience in the administration and oversight of human subjects and animal research. For most of the last decade, her focus has been on leading the team charged with the review and management of research-related conflict of interests (COI). Working with investigators to navigate COI requirements is the core mission of the team.
JC serves as a member of the Human Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee (HSCRO) at CWRU and continues to contribute to literature related to the ethics of cerebral organoids. She is a past chair of the CWRU Staff Advisory Council. JC is an alumna of the CWRU Women’s Staff LeadershipDevelopment Institute, known as WSLDI. She is a current member of the AAMC FOCI Resources Working Group, representing the CWRU at the national level.
JC trained as a medical anthropologist. The professional code of ethics for work in the field of anthropology guides her in her professional career as a research administrator: weigh competing ethical obligations, obtain informed consent and permission, collaborate, share results, educate, and inform, be respectful of differences, and maintain and preserve records. She holds a master’s degree in medical anthropology from CWRU and is a proud graduate of Oberlin College.