IRB COVID-19 research guidance

September 1, 2022

Dear NAU Research Community,

The Institutional Review Board at Northern Arizona aims to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research. Investigators must always consider transmission and potential exposure risks to participants, research teams and to the community depending on your study activities.

If you need to change an approved research protocol, including key personnel, study procedures, recruitment text or locations, data collection measures, or eligibility, these changes must first be reviewed and approved by the IRB per amendment guidance. Changes in order to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to research participants can be reported to the IRB per reporting guidance. Whether and when this may be advisable will vary depending on your protocol activities and the risk and benefit to participants with whom you are working. Please see the FDA guidance on research conducted during COVID-19 for your additional reference.

IRB operations continue as normal and work will continue to be processed in a timely fashion. Please see the NAU website for up-to-date IRB submission instructions, guidance, education opportunities and FAQs or contact the office main line (irb@nau.edu, 928-523-9551).

Please continue to check up-to-date CDC COVID-19 guidance and the NAU Jacks-are-back website for new information in this fluid situation.