UAS INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
The mission of the UAS Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to protect the welfare of human subjects in research projects conducted by UAS faculty, staff and students. IRB committee members receive training in federal regulations governing research involving human subjects; they are also conversant with The Belmont Report, which outlines the ethical principles that provide the foundation for all IRB work. Those principles are:
• Respect for persons (protecting personal autonomy by providing subjects with information about the planned research)
• Beneficence (ensuring that the proposed research maximizes benefits relative to risks)
• Justice (ensuring that research is conducted in a way that is fair and non-exploitative)
The IRB committee is an independent body that includes at least five members. One is a community member and one is a nonscientist. The committee reviews protocols—detailed descriptions of proposed research involving human subjects—and evaluates them in light of the Belmont principles. Committee members consider issues such as relative risks and benefits of research and ensure that potentially vulnerable groups, such as children or detainees, are treated fairly and not unduly burdened by research.
The UAS IRB is registered with the Office of Human Research Protections of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.