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Ann-Margret
Ervin
,
PhD

Associate Research Professor

Departmental Affiliations

Primary
Division
Clinical Trials and Evidence Synthesis
School of Medicine
Joint

Ann-Margret Ervin, PhD ’06, MPH, designs and leads multicenter randomized clinical trials and researches interventions to improve representation in vision research and increase access to eye care.

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6146
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        

Research Interests

Epidemiology; Clinical trials; Clinical trials methodology; Visual impairment; Eye disease; Ophthalmology; Bioethics; Research ethics; Systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins University
2006
MPH
Emory University
1995
Overview

Dr. Ervin's research interests focus on the design and conduct of randomized clinical trials of interventions to treat and prevent ocular disease and visual impairment. Dr. Ervin has contributed to numerous studies of the causes, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of disorders of the eye and visual system including age-related macular degeneration, refractive error, low vision, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy.  Her research also focuses on interventions for improving: a) access to eye care for underserved populations and b) representation in vision research. 

Dr. Ervin also conducts novel research on the ethical implications of US federal regulations for institutional review boards (IRBs). Dr. Ervin is keenly interested in the impact of federal regulations on the design and conduct of multicenter clinical trials, specifically the advantages and disadvantages of alternate IRB review models for streamlining ethical review in the multicenter setting. She was a Co-Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded project to establish priorities for the principles and practices of central IRBs in the multicenter study setting. 

Dr. Ervin is the Clinical Trials and Evidence Synthesis Track Director, the faculty coordinator for the Clinical Trials Certificate Program, and the Principal Investigator of the coordinating centers for the Incremental Velocity Error as a New Treatment in Vestibular Rehabilitation (INVENT) clinical trial and the Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline Among Normal Individuals (BIOCARD) observational study. 

Honors & Awards

Clinical Trials Training Program in Vision Research Fellowship, National Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Dean’s Scholar Academic Scholarship, Emory University

Select Publications

Selected publications since 2015.

  • Ervin AM, Solomon SD, Shoge RY. Access to Eye Care in the United States: Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Is Key to Improving Access for Underserved Populations. Ophthalmology. 2022 Oct;129(10):1079-1080. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2022.07.011. Epub 2022 Sep 1. PMID: 36058738.

  • Solomon SD, Shoge RY, Ervin AM, Contreras M, Harewood J, Aguwa UT, Olivier MMG. Improving Access to Eye Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Ophthalmology. 2022 Oct;129(10):e114-e126. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2022.07.012. Epub 2022 Sep 1. PMID: 36058739.

  • Ervin AM, Strauss RW, Ahmed MI, Birch D, Cheetham J, Ferris FL, Ip MS, Jaffe GJ, Maguire MG, Schönbach EM, Sadda SR, West SK, Scholl HPN for the ProgStar Study Group. A workshop on measuring the progression of atrophy secondary to Stargardt disease in the ProgStar studies: Findings and lessons learned. Translational Vision Science and Technology 2019; 8(2): 16, https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.8.2.16.

  • Ervin AM, Taylor HA, Ehrhardt S, Meinert CL. Why public comments matter: An analysis of the NIH draft policy on single IRB review of multicenter studies. Academic Medicine 2018 August; 93: 1157 - 1161.

  • Ervin AM, Taylor HA, Ehrhardt S. NIH policy on single IRB review: a new era in ethical review of multicenter studies. New England Journal of Medicine, 2016 December 15; 375 (24): 2315 – 2317.

  • Ervin AM, Taylor HA, Meinert CL, Ehrhardt S. Evidence gaps and ethical review of multicenter studies. Science, 2015 November 6; 350 (6261): 632-3.

Projects
The Natural History of the Progression of Atrophy Secondary to Stargardt Disease (ProgStar) Studies
Incremental Velocity Error as a New Treatment in Vestibular Rehabilitation (INVENT VPT) Trial
Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline Among Normal Individuals (The BIOCARD Study)