An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a federally mandated panel that is charged with safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects in research.
Here at Georgia Tech, there are two IRBs:
- Georgia Tech (Central) IRB reviews most human subjects research activities
- Joint Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI) IRB reviews research activities of the CABI, which is a joint collaboration between Georgia State University and Georgia Tech
Both IRBs have the authority to approve, require modifications in, or disapprove all research activities that fall within their jurisdictions as specified by both federal regulations and Georgia Tech policies and procedures.
IRB approval is required in advance for all research projects that include human subjects, regardless of funding source and regardless of whether the project is a subgrant or subcontract to or from another institution. Submit research protocols via IRBWISE. Contact the IRB team at Georgia Tech's Office of Research Integrity Assurance (ORIA) for guidance and assistance, or if you have questions about whether a study protocol requires IRB review.
Resources are available here at the university to help researchers understand and comply with federal requirements for human subjects research. Information on required training, informed consent, payments to subjects, reporting violations, and much more is available on these pages and applies to research involving both IRBs. The Office of Research Integrity Assurance (ORIA) provides support to researchers and to the IRBs to ensure that all research complies with federal regulations.
The IRBs are supported by ORIA, which reports to the Vice President for Research. This office maintains the university's Federalwide Assurance (FWA 00001731) and Registrations with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) in the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This Federalwide Assurance and all IRB policies and procedures apply to all Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and students.
ORIA provides administrative support to the IRBs in addition to the following services:
- Facilitates ethical conduct of research through advance and continuing protocol review, monitoring, and reporting
- Convenes regular meetings for the review of proposed and continuing research
- Provides educational programs for faculty, staff, and students
- Oversees the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and educational programs that satisfy the many regulations governing the conduct of research involving human subjects
Contact the IRB team at ORIA for guidance and assistance.
Institutional Official
The President of Georgia Institute of Technology has delegated authority to Dr. Robert Butera, Vice President for Research Development and Operations, as the Institutional Official (IO) for Institutional Review Board purposes. He has the authority to legally commit Georgia Tech to meet federal regulatory requirements. The VPRDO/IO is responsible for appointing the Chair(s) of the Institutional Review Boards and board members, and he signs Georgia Tech's Federalwide Assurance.
