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IRB Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences (HSBS)

What is an IRB?

An IRB is an independent committee made up of at least five (5) members from the academic disciplines for which it has oversight and at least one member who is not affiliated with the institution.  The membership:

  • Comes primarily from faculty
  • May also include students, staff and members of the community
  • Must have the expertise and experience to evaluate proposed research projects
  • Must be diverse in terms of race, gender and cultural backgrounds

U-M HRPP Operations Manual IRB References

IRB organization, authority: Part 2, Section II, C.1

IRB jurisdiction: Part 5, Section II

IRB-HSBS Staff

Corey Zolondek, PhD, CIP – Director

Mary E. Donnelly, MBA, CIP – Lead Research Compliance Specialist, Full Board Administrator

Adam J. Mrdjenovich, Ph.D. – Lead Research Compliance Specialist, Education Coordinator

Li Morrow, M.Ed., CIP – Intermediate Research Compliance Specialist, Assistant Full Board Administrator

Elizabeth Molina, M.S. – Intermediate Research Compliance Specialist

Lavar Green-Jackson, B.S. – Research Compliance Specialist 

Wendy Peebles, MSW – Research Compliance Specialist

 

 

About the Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences IRB (IRB-HSBS) 

AAHRPP accreditation sealThe Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB-HSBS) is responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of human participants in research conducted by faculty, staff and students affiliated with the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor Campus as well as the Dearborn and Flint Campuses (see list of supported units). Although most IRB review practices are the same for the three campuses, there may be some requirements unique to Flint or Dearborn (e.g., procedures for use of subject pools, specific document templates, or academic program required information for research applications).  This information will be referenced in these web pages or you can contact the staff liaison for your unit if you have questions about Flint or Dearborn requirements.

The IRB-HSBS:

  1. Reviews and oversees research to ensure that it meets ethical principles and complies with federal regulations, state laws, and university policies (see HRPP Policies)
  2. Assists researchers in the design and conduct of sound research in support of U-M's mission to develop and disseminate new knowledge in the public interest 

IRB-HSBS Boards

The IRB-HSBS consists of two (2) boards led by the IRB Co-Chairs Riann Palmieri-Smith, Ph.D. and Thad Polk, Ph.D., and Vice Chairs Rob Hymes, Ph.D. and Kazuko Hiramatsu, Ph.D.  Each board meets monthly.  Designated IRB members also conduct  expedited review of applications on a rolling basis.  Each board includes faculty representatives from U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint.

IRB-HSBS full board roster

IRB-HSBS Office

The IRB-HSBS regulatory compliance staff supports the operations of the two boards. As a researcher, most of your interaction with the IRB is through the staff as they assist you with questions about IRB process and regulatory requirements, as well as provide educational programming to the research community. 

IRB staff members:

  • Conduct administrative review of new submissions
  • Manage application workflow
  • Manage communications between the research team and the IRB reviewer
  • Issue exempt determinations and other decisions. 

Researcher Roles & Responsibilities

Researchers at U-M are responsible for the ethical conduct of research with human participants.  In compliance with federal regulations, state laws, and university policy, the investigator's key responsibilities are to:

FAQs

Federal regulations define a human subject as a "living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research: (i) obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with an individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (ii) obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens." ~ 45 CFR 46.102

  • Data includes information or specimens collected from living subjects
  • About whom indicates that the data must be personal information about an individual
  • Intervention includes physical procedures, manipulations of the subject, or manipulations of a subject's environment for research purposes (e.g., taking saliva or blood samples, havin a subject view a video)
  • Interaction refers to communication (e.g., face-to-face, internet, mail, phone, etc.) between the investigator and the subject 
  • Identifiable means that the subject's identity is or may be readily ascertained by the investigator or others, or is associated with the information or biospecimen.
  • Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which the subject can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place; or, information provided for specific purposes by the subject in which the subject can reasonably expect will not be made public (e.g., medical records, academic records, personal journals). 

NOT human subjects research:

  • Research using data from the 1880 Census because the data isn't from living individuals
  • Survey that collects data about an organization's activities because the data isn't about individuals
  • Research using de-identified data sets because the data are not individually identifiable

If you can answer "yes" to the following questions, you need to submit an IRB application in eResearch for IRB review:

1.  Is it research?

Research is a systematic investigation (including research development, testing, and evaluation) designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge  ~ Federal definition, 45 CFR 46.102(l)

  • Systematic investigation is an activity designed to test a hypothesis and to draw conclusions as described in a formal protocol that sets forth an objective and procedures to reach that objective.
    • Activities such as the practice of public health, medicine, counseling, or social work are not research. 
  • Generalizable knowledge is information expressed in theories, principles, and statements of relationships that can be widely applied (e.g, by publishing findings or presenting findings at a professional meeting).
    • Studies for internal management purposes (e.g., program evaluation, quality assurance, or quality improvement) are not research because the intent is not to provide generalizable knowledge but to apply findings only to the program or activity.

2.  Does the research involve human subjects?

Human subjects research is a project that involves a living individual about whom the investigator (whether student or professional) (i) obtains information or biospecimens through interaction/intervention with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (ii) obtains, uses studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or indentifable biospecimens. Federal definition 45 CFR 46.102(e)(1) 

3.  Is the university engaged in the conduct of the research?​​

The university is "engaged" when the research is conducted by U-M faculty, staff, trainee, or other agent acting in connection to their university responsibilities.  See OHRP's Guidance on Engagement of Institutions for more information and examples.

Caveats:

  • Direct awards from federal sponsors that meet criteria #1 and #2 are always reviewed by a U-M IRB, whether or not the university is engaged in the research.  
  • If you answer "no" to any of these questions, you may have other obligations than IRB review.  See the U-M HRPP Operations Manual Part 4, Section V for more information about regulated/non-regulated research.

Questions?

IRB Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences

2800 Plymouth Road
Bldg. 520, Rm. 2144
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800

Phone: (734) 936-0933
Fax: (734) 936-1852
irbhsbs@umich.edu