Establishment, Maintenance, and Utilization of IRBs- POL018   

It is UAB policy that UAB will maintain an appropriate number of IRBs to accomplish timely and thorough review of UAB’s human subjects research activities. Establishment of IRBs will be based on the volume and types of research activities engaged in by UAB. UAB may contract with independent IRBs to satisfy IRB functions. When it participates in cooperative projects or multi-institutional studies, UAB may use joint review, rely upon the review of another qualified IRB, or make similar arrangements for avoiding duplication of effort. All IRBs utilized by UAB will possess sufficient knowledge to meet the local research context requirements of federal regulations. (See also: GUI305 Organizational Statement on IRBs of Record for UAB.)

When it contracts with an independent IRB or relies on another organization’s IRB, UAB will remain responsible for maintaining a system to protect human subjects. UAB may choose to delegate in writing some of its responsibilities to an independent IRB or the IRB of another organization. When responsibilities are delegated to outside IRBs, UAB will ensure that external IRBs meet similar standards of performance as its internal IRBs. UAB will retain ultimate responsibility for human subjects protection performed within its local research context, which includes safeguarding the rights and welfare of human participants; educating the members of UAB’s research community in order to promote a culture to comply with federal regulations and institutional policies on human research protections; and implementing appropriate oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with IRB determinations. The Institutional Official will assess the adequacy of the number of IRBs utilized by UAB annually during the time of budget development.