Tom Bechert

Tom has more than 20 years of experience helping institutions strengthen research administration, elevate human research protections, and improve compliance programs to advance high‑quality, efficient, and ethically grounded research.

Beyond research operations and compliance — I build trust, deliver results, and help clients advance their scientific missions.”

About Tom

Tom provides regulatory, compliance, and research program expertise to universities, academic medical centers, hospital systems, and federal research organizations. He works with leaders to strengthen institutional review board (IRB) and human research protection program (HRPP) operations, improve clinical research infrastructure, and implement governance frameworks that support efficient, ethical, and well-managed research portfolios. His approach emphasizes practical solutions that help organizations reduce operational friction, improve service to investigators, and promote high-quality, compliant research.

Throughout his career, Tom has:

• Delivered turnkey IRB/HRPP operating models through Huron’s HRPP toolkit, providing HRPP leaders with the industry-leading tools for fully compliant and maximally efficient IRB operations.
• Provided regulatory and good clinical practice (GCP) audit services for universities and health systems, helping institutions identify risk, implement corrective actions, improve research oversight practices, and successfully navigate federal regulatory inspections and investigations.
• Led comprehensive HRPP transformation initiatives for large academic research organizations, resulting in measurably improved service levels, streamlined review workflows, strengthened oversight functions, and 50% faster review times.
• Directed IRB administration and clinical trials office stabilization efforts within complex health systems, improving regulatory consistency and reducing delays in study activation.
• Managed accreditation and reaccreditation efforts for numerous institutions seeking recognition from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), improving readiness and long-term sustainability of compliance structures.
• Designed clinical research support models for community hospital systems and medical schools, improving investigator support, strengthening charge capture and billing compliance, and increasing standardization across research operations.
• Helped clients pair policy with platform by aligning electronic IRB systems with optimized business processes for implementations that reduce friction for investigators.

Prior to joining Huron in 2004, Tom served as a research scientist in viral vaccine research and development at Wyeth.

Tom earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology from New York Medical College, and a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from the University of Notre Dame. He is a certified IRB professional (CIP).