Lee University established the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to protect the rights of human participants, to support ethical research with animal subjects, and to promote quality research by faculty and students. Sponsored by the Lee LCA Board.
The IRB must approve any research development, testing, and evaluation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge concerning living individual(s) about whom an investigator, whether professional or student, conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual(s) or identifiable private information. The IRB also reviews and approves any research protocol involving animals.
Proposal Submission Process
- Complete the appropriate proposal document (human subjects review form or animal review form) and submit it to OURS at [email protected]
- Along with the proposal document, each investigator is required to submit a Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) completion certificate, or an equivalent human subjects research training.
- The OURS will conduct an initial review of the research proposal to ensure all major components of the proposal have been completed.
- The IRB Chairperson will then review the proposal to determine the appropriate review category (i.e., exempt, expedited, or full-board review) has been marked.
- The IRB Chairperson and/or committee will then review the proposal and provide comments for the investigator(s) where necessary.
- The investigator(s) should then highlight all changes to the research proposal and resubmit it to the OURS for a final review.
- After the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the IRB committee, the OURS will notify the investigator(s) of the approval via email.
- Please note that once your proposal has been approved, it is the investigator(s) responsibility to notify the IRB if any changes or modifications are made in the study’s design, procedures, and so on. If your project extends beyond a 5-year period, you are required by federal law to submit a new application to be reviewed at the end of five years. It is the investigator(s) responsibility to ensure that all CITI training certificates are up to date.
Please contact [email protected] to ensure that you have access to the most updated versions of our forms or if you have any questions
The IRB committee is made up of 6 individual faculty members representing various departments across campus that perform research with human and/or animal subjects, as well as 1 representative from outside the university.