Institutional Review Board
Human Research Protection Program
A project requires IRB review if the study meets both the federal definitions (1) research and (2) human subjects.
(1) Research Accordion Closed
1) Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
(2) Human subjects Accordion Closed
2) Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:
(i) Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or
(ii) Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens.
Review process
Timeline
Submissions to the IRB are processed and reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis in the order received. The timeline to approval varies depending on the category of review, quality and completeness of a submission, revisions required and responsiveness, and number of review requests in the queue. Planning for the IRB review process will help ensure that important deadlines/timelines are met, avoiding delays in the initiation of your research. In general, investigators should plan to submit a complete application for IRB review at least 30-45 days prior to beginning studies.
Review Level – Time frame
- Exempt – 1 to 3 weeks
- Expedited – 2 to 4 weeks
- Full Committee – 1 to 2 months