Important Clinical Research Insights

Institutional review boards (IRBs) are ethics review committees that ensure human research subjects’ rights are protected, as well as the rights of the patients who ultimately benefit from the research. Operating under US federal regulations, state laws, and institutional policies, the IRB has the authority to approve, require modification to, and disapprove research. IRBs are an important part of regulatory efforts and their approval is required for all human research. Here’s a quick overview of IRBs and the expectations for working with them.