What is an Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
An IRB is a federally required committee that is responsible for overseeing research involving human participants. The IRB is responsible for ensuring that human research participants are not mistreated and that their rights are protected.
Why is an IRB Necessary?
In the not-so-distant past, the burden of research lay heavily on vulnerable populations such as children, prisoners, the economically disadvantaged, the elderly, those with cognitive impairments, and minority groups. Unethical human experimentation such as that conducted during World War II and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study resulted in the creation of regulatory and ethical safeguards designed to protect the rights and dignity of participants in clinical trials and research studies.
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) were the ultimate result and are in place to ensure research is conducted ethically and in accordance with federal regulations. IRBs serve as an objective third party, an oversight committee, governed by federal regulations to protect participants and manage risk to those involved in research.
Individual Consultations
The UMass Amherst Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) offers assistance for researchers navigating the Institutional Review Board (IRB) review process. Contact the HRPO at @email to request a consult today.
Become an IRB Member
Role and Responsibilities of an IRB member
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews proposed human research protocols to ensure participants’ rights are protected and risks of harm are minimized. The framework for protecting human participants is set by federal regulations and the Belmont Report. IRB members provide ethical review of human research and help ensure compliance with UMass Amherst policies and procedures, federal regulations, and state and local laws. The IRB oversees human research at UMass Amherst. If you are interested in research and would like to help protect the safety and welfare of research participants, this volunteer opportunity may be for you. IRB members play an essential role in the review process and bring diverse backgrounds and experience to the evaluation of research applications.
Diverse Membership
In compliance with federal regulations, UMass Amherst IRB membership is diverse with respect to scientific background, expertise, gender, race, ethnicity and affiliation. This allows for a better review of research since each member brings unique perspective to the discussion. The board includes members who:
- have training in scientific fields and others who do not have a science background or training;
- are UMass Amherst faculty and staff, and
- are community members not affiliated with UMass Amherst.
Community Members
Unaffiliated community members play an important role on the IRB. They bring unique insight and perspective to discussions about how best to protect research participants. The community member(s) has the responsibility to provide the perspective of the volunteer research participant to the review of protocols. Community members do not have a current affiliation with UMass Amherst. They also must not have an immediate family member (spouse or child) affiliated with the institution.
Non-Scientist Members
IRB members with a non-scientific background may be employed at UMass Amherst or they may be community members. There must be at least one non-scientist member at every IRB meeting.
IRB Review
IRB members review research proposals in an online submission portal called Kuali.
To become an IRB member, we ask:
- Members to make a minimum of a three-year commitment to serving on the board.
- Members to agree to attend at least 80% of the monthly meetings, members may attend remotely.
- For a time commitment of approximately 6-8 hours per month. Meetings last 1-2 hours and the members attending each meeting must review study materials in advance to prepare for the discussion.
- Member to participate in an initial training process, including online training and in person orientation; members also participate in monthly continuing education activities.
- Members complete a Conflict of Interest disclosure annually.
- Members must sign a Confidentiality Agreement upon becoming an IRB member. The materials presented and all discussions at an IRB meeting are considered confidential.
We’re happy to answer your questions about becoming an IRB member. For more information, contact the Human Research Protection Office at 413 - 545 - 3428 or via email at @email.
**We gratefully acknowledge the University of New Mexico IRB for permitting the use of adapted language.