Marjorie Speers ’78

Former nontraditional student thrives in a nontraditional role

March 9, 2010

Marjorie Speers ’78

Marjorie Speers ’78 came to Dickinson knowing she wanted to be a scientist. From the beginning, she was a nontraditional student: Speers began college at the age of 23, took five courses every semester, including summers, and graduated with honors in just two and a half years.

She went on to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and epidemiology at Yale University and taught briefly at the University of Texas Medical Branch. But it was in her role as an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and then at the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) that she found her calling. In 2001, she was named president and CEO of AAHRPP. Under her leadership the organization became the sole accrediting body in the United States and the accrediting body of choice for international human-research protection programs.

“I realized that I like to lead programs and people in science rather than conduct research,” she explains. “The positions I held at CDC, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission and now at AAHRPP allow me to exert influence over science policy at the national and international levels.”

Speers’ previous research was focused on public health, specifically the prevention of breast and cervical cancers and cardiovascular disease. Reflecting on her experience of often being the only, or just one of a few, women scientists in her field, she says, “Dickinson prepared me well to survive, actually thrive, in a male- and physician-dominated environment.”