IRB Advisor – August 1, 2014
August 1, 2014
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IRBs grappling with tissue requests from biotech firms
Technology advances have driven increased interest in molecular studies involving tissue analyses. As a result, biotech firms increasingly are asking scientists to sell human tissues for study by outside enterprises. -
Dust off those checklists, tools, templates
As IRB offices gear up for a busy academic research year, its a good idea to dust off IRB templates, checklists, and other tools to revise, improve, and adapt to technology and other changes. -
IRB uses matrix to clarify research risks
Evaluating research risk requires understanding a variety of potential harms and their nuanced impact. IRBs might find it useful to have a matrix to help explore each potential harm. -
Risk matrix contains four potential harms
The IRB at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI, uses a matrix that clarifies how IRB members and staff might describe various potential harms at four levels, from no more than minimal risk to high risk. -
Out with the old IRB process, in with the new
For many years, the IRB office at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) followed a process that was standard at most institutions: long, regularly scheduled meetings organized to review an ever-increasing number of protocols. -
University system creates reliance service
Even as multicenter studies with central IRB reviews gain traction, some IRBs are still hesitant to join in. However, coordinating a multisite study among several IRBs within the same university system can be a time and paperwork hassle for both principal investigators and IRBs and could make previously reluctant IRBs consider a new central reliance agreement. -
New ethics report for neuroscience research
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues May 2014 report, Gray Matters: Integrative Approaches for Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society, includes recommendations for institutions and individuals engaged in neuroscience research.