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Institutional Review Board

Federal regulations require that all research involving human participants undergo review by a board of scientific and faculty peers, called an Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is supported by the Human Research Protections program.  

At the highest level, the IRB is designed to protect research participants and is required to review proposed research before it is implemented to ensure that it is scientifically valid, risks to participants are minimized to the extent possible, and that risks are reasonable relative to the expected benefits of the research.   

Given the potential risks and benefits, the board ensures that potential participants are informed of the possible risks, aware of key study information, and freely consent to participate. In addition, the board assesses whether the selection of subjects is appropriate to ensure that the burdens and benefits of research are equitably distributed.     

Federal law requires that institutional review boards include scientists from diverse disciplines, a member from a non-science discipline, such as a lawyer, historian, philosopher, or member of the clergy, and a member who is unaffiliated with the university.

A Human Research Protections program (HRPP) protocol coordinator who is assigned at initial submission will manage each research protocol throughout its lifecycle, including facilitating review of the protocol by the full board when required.

Once investigators submit a research protocol, the assigned protocol coordinator completes a pre-review of the submission. They then work closely with the research team to develop a complete submission for board review, as necessary. Protocol coordinators also work closely with member(s) of the Institutional Review Board who serve as the primary and secondary reviewers of the research protocol at the monthly meeting.

The section below includes important dates for the full board review process. The initial submission date allows HRPP protocol coordinators time to complete the pre-review step and work with investigators, as needed. To be considered for the full board meeting date, the submission must be completed by the date listed in the left column below. This means that all pre-review issues must be addressed.

Note: any delay in the pre-review process might cause a submission to be moved to a later IRB meeting date.

Researchers should work with their assigned protocol coordinator to avoid any delay in finalizing submissions.

2023 Dates

Note: Initial submission is due to the Human Research Protection program office on the due date by 5:00 p.m.

Initial Submission Date Full Board Meeting Date
Monday, December 12, 2022 Monday, January 9, 2023
Monday, January 23, 2023 Monday, February 13, 2023
Monday, February 20, 2023 Monday, March 13, 2023
Monday, March 20, 2023 Monday, April 10, 2023
Monday, April 17, 2023 Monday, May 8, 2023
Monday, May 22, 2023 Monday, June 12, 2023
Monday, June 19, 2023 Monday, July 10, 2023
Monday, July 24, 2023 Monday, August 14, 2023
Monday, August 21, 2023 Monday, September 11, 2023
Monday, September 18, 2023 Monday, October 9, 2023
Monday, October 23, 2023 Monday, November 13, 2023
Monday, November 13, 2023 Monday, December 11, 2023