ORO Leadership
Douglas D. Bannerman, PhD
ORO Executive Director
Doug Bannerman, Ph.D., was appointed Executive Director of the Office of Research Oversight (ORO) in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 2017. In this role, Doug leads the primary VHA office responsible for providing oversight of research program compliance with VA and other Federal requirements pertaining to: the protection of human subjects; research information security; laboratory animal welfare; research safety; research laboratory security; research misconduct; and Federal government-wide debarment for impropriety in VA research. He also serves as the principal adviser to the Under Secretary for Health on matters of research compliance. Doug previously worked at ORO from 2008 to 2015, where he directed the Research Misconduct Oversight Program, and conducted compliance oversight reviews of the research safety, laboratory security, and animal care programs at VA medical centers.
Prior to returning to VA as the ORO Executive Director, Doug served as the Senior Advisor on Scientific Integrity and Departmental Scientific Integrity Officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In that role, Doug developed USDA’s scientific integrity program, formulated Department-wide policy on scientific integrity, and provided oversight of responses to resolve scientific integrity concerns. He also served as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics on scientific integrity matters.
Before becoming involved in policy development and research oversight, Doug conducted biomedical and veterinary research for over 15 years, including several years as a Principal Investigator. He has co-authored 68 peer-reviewed journal articles, received numerous invitations to present his research at national and international scientific meetings, and obtained competitively funded Federal grants and industry funding to support his research. Doug has served on journal editorial boards and grant review panels; served as the primary research adviser for several undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral research trainees; chaired an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); and was elected President of the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists. In recognition of his research, mentoring, and outreach efforts, he was awarded the 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Doug earned his doctorate (Ph.D.) in Pathology from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
Peter N. Poon, JD, MA
ORO Deputy Executive Director
Peter Poon was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Research Oversight (ORO) in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) on May 19, 2014. As Deputy, Mr. Poon supports the ORO Executive Director in advising the Under Secretary for Health on, and exercising oversight concerning, all matters of research compliance and assurance.
Mr. Poon has been an integral part of ORO since its inception in 2000. Initially, Mr. Poon established and developed VA’s research misconduct oversight practice within ORO. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Poon directed ORO’s Research Information Security Program.
Mr. Poon holds an International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) certification (CIPP/G).
