Human Subjects Research

NEW Researcher Guidance on COVID-19 and IRB Review

Please see the updated guidance on the Resumption of Research site.

In accordance with SMU Policy 10.10 Human Subjects in Research, the use of Human Subjects in research activities will be performed in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations, and guided by the principles in the Belmont Report. Review of research activities involving human subjects will be provided by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in order to minimize the risks to, and to promote protection of the rights and welfare of, human subjects.

Update 5/20/2020: As of June 1, 2020, the Chair of the Institutional Review Board is Professor Christopher Dolder, MFA.

Update 2/24/2020: A model application is now available for your reference.

Update 1/3/2020: Changes to single IRB (sIRB) requirements for federally-funded collaborative research went into effect on 1/20/2020. See the Research Handbook for more information.

Institutional Review Board

Details about the IRB committee and review process and guidance for compliance with the Common Rule can now be found in the Research Handbook.

Revisions to the Regulations

On January 21, 2019, revisions to the Human Subjects Research regulations (aka the Common Rule) went into effect. In general, the intention of these changes was to reduce administrative burden for researchers and the IRB. You can find an overview of the changes here.

ResearchMatch

SMU is excited to offer ResearchMatch as a resource for our researchers. ResearchMatch brings together people who are trying to find research studies and clinical trials, and researchers who are looking for volunteers. Currently, there are over 130,000 volunteers in the ResearchMatch database, ready to be recruited for your study. Find more information about ResearchMatch here.

Guidance

We offer guidance for planning your research project. To discuss your specific research plans, please email the Compliance Coordinator or call at 214-768-4204.