VCCEP Panel Nomination and Selection

The selection of expert scientific panel members for TERA’s VCCEP Peer Consultation program follows procedures in accordance with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. EPA.  These procedures are described in more detail at https://tera.org/Peer/COI.html.  Additionally, TERA has identified specific items which are considered to be conflicts of interest or biases for VCCEP panel candidates.  These items are described at https://tera.org/Peer/VCCEP/VCCEPCOI.html.

 

TERAs nomination and selection process for VCCEP peer consultations will assure that:

  • Interested parties have the opportunity to nominate panel member
  • A high value is placed on the scientific expertise of each candidate
  • Company and organizational affiliations, potential conflicts of interest, and biases are considered in selection and publicly disclosed
  • The panel as a whole includes members with a spectrum of viewpoints and relevant areas of expertise

 

Nomination Procedure for Panel Members

 

Nominees may come from industry, government, academia, consultant groups, public interest groups, or elsewhere.  They may be actively engaged in their profession or be retired.  Each panel will be comprised of a core group and ad hoc members.  TERA will consider all nominations and select both core and ad hoc panel members.

 

Core Panel Members

 

Core panel members are experts with sufficiently broad areas of expertise to qualify them for service on most or all of the VCCEP panels.  Core panel members add continuity to the peer consultation program and will be asked to commit to serve on panels for one year.

TERA will announce the request for core panel member nominations by posting a notice on its web site https://tera.org/Peer/news.html and by sending an email to interested parties (i.e., including identified stakeholders and sponsors).

 

2006 Core Panel
2005 Core Panel
2004 Core Panel
2003 Core Panel

 

Ad hoc Panel Members

 

Ad hoc panel members are experts selected to serve on a particular VCCEP panel because of a focused area of expertise.  Ad hoc panel members may be nominated by stakeholders or identified by TERA.

 

TERA will announce the request for ad hoc panel member nominations several months prior to a specific chemical's meeting.  The announcement will be posted on TERA’s web site https://tera.org/Peer/news.html and an email will be sent to interested parties.

When nominating candidates, nominators should confirm the candidate’s agreement to serve on a panel, with core members committing to a term of at least one year.  Nominations submitted to TERA should include a letter describing the candidate’s qualifications and the candidate’s CV.

 

Selection Procedure for Panel Members

 

TERA will consider the following criteria when making panel member selections:

 

1.  Recognized technical expertise in areas relevant to the subject matter under discussion, as evidenced by one or more of the following:

 

bullet       Experience in critically reviewing toxicity, exposure, or epidemiology data, especially as these relate to children

bullet       Experience in relating these data to risk assessment methodologies and principles, and in drawing conclusions based on these data

bullet       Knowledge of relevant epidemiology or animal toxicology testing methods, including the advantages and limitations of test results provided by specific procedures

bullet       Knowledge of relevant exposure assessment factors and methods, including the advantages and limitations of results provided by specific procedures

bullet       Scientific publications on the chemical or related subjects of discussion

bullet       Familiarity with relevant toxicity, exposure, or epidemiology information related to children.

2. Willingness to publicly disclose all potential conflict of interest and bias issues, and to be governed by TERA’s decisions regarding the acceptability of these issues for panel membership

 

3. Ability to objectively consider differing viewpoints and work effectively in a group

 

4. Ability to attend panel meetings and to devote the time and effort required to make meaningful contributions to panel discussions

 

Panels usually will consist of up to twelve members, plus the chairperson. 

TERA will work to assure each panel’s membership reflects the differing perspectives of the stakeholders, but TERA will not guarantee the selection of nominees from any stakeholder group.