Institutional Review Board for Human Participants

Does your research activity need IRB review?

News & Announcements

• June 2009 Newsletter
  This issue's articles:
  • Addition to the IRB Administrative Support Team
  • Applications for Continuing Review of Approved Protocols
  • Submitting a Complete Protocol Application
  • International Research Involving Human Subjects
• Archived Newsletters

Cornell University operates a Human Research Protection Program to protect the rights and welfare of individuals who volunteer to participate in the research mission of the University. While the ultimate responsibility for the treatment of all human participants in research rests with the individual researcher (faculty, students, or staff) who has been given the privilege to conduct research with humans, the Institutional Review Boards exist as a safeguard to promote the ethical and responsible treatment of human participants in research, by conducting scientific and ethical review of research studies while providing education and guidance for the research community.

Cornell University operates its Human Research Protection Program under two separate Federal Wide Assurances (FWA) filed with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): one for the upstate campus principally located in Ithaca (FWA 0004513) and a separate FWA for the Weill Cornell Medical College principally located in New York City (FWA 0000952).

University policy requires that all research that involves human participants, regardless of the source of financial support, must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) before it can be initiated. Guiding this review process by the IRB is the application of federal and state laws and various ethical principles, particularly those articulated in the Belmont Report: (1) Respect for Persons, (2) Beneficence, and (3) Justice.