Guided by the institutional Mission of Iona College and by its Catholic heritage, Iona's Human Subjects Review Board/Institutional Review Board (IRB) is established to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and, further, to promote adherence to the highest ethical standards in research on human subjects and human tissue by Iona's faculty, students, and employees. The efforts of the IRB are guided by the pursuit of wisdom, integrity and truth, and the common good.

Out of respect for the dignity of human persons and in pursuit of the goal of education toward ethical decision-making, the IRB seeks to protect the rights, physical and emotional welfare, and privacy of all persons who choose to participate as subjects in research by:

• Requiring all investigators to be educated regarding regulatory and ethical guidelines concerning human research,
• Reviewing all proposed research involving human subjects and human tissue regardless of funding source,
• Approving, disapproving, or modifying such research according to stated criteria,
• Monitoring approved research to ensure that such protections remain in place throughout the course of the research, and
• Considering that all research is rooted in the Mission and core values of Iona College and committed to the recognition of the dignity of each individual.

What We Review:

All research conducted by Iona's faculty, students, and staff involving human subjects or biological materials requires review by the IRB. All research by others which involves Iona's faculty, staff, and/or students (including research conducted offsite) also requires IRB review.
Purpose: The Iona IRB is an ethics board that is empowered to

1. Protect human subjects from undue risk,
2. Review consent procedures,
3. Provide oversight related to these concerns on an ongoing basis, and
4. Offer researchers guidance on research-related ethical issues.

When to Submit:

A project must be reviewed before any data is gathered. Please read the information on this website before proceeding.

Using this Website:

Please use the links provided to the left to familiarize yourself with the IRB process.  The How Does the IRB work section offers general information about the IRB, while GETTING STARTED will summarize the steps you need to take for approval. The two Decision Trees are flow charts which will help you decide how best to proceed.  The link for Sample Documents contains Sample Consent Forms, provided for your use in producing valid forms.  The necessary IRB application forms and instructions, as well as a sample application, are found under Application/Notification Forms. Please utilize these samples to avoid revisions that will delay the approval process. Information regarding additional aspects of the IRB structure and process may also be accessed via links on the left side of this page.

The IRB is guided by the principles outlined in The Belmont Report of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. LInks to this report and other relevant documents including the federal regulations (Title 45 CFR Part 46) may be found in the Websites of Interest tab.