The UMBC Institutional Review Board (IRB) has responsibility of providing oversights of research activities involving human subjects and ensuring that ethical standards for safeguards and protection of participants.
Research with human subjects, regardless of funding, conducted under the auspices of UMBC, is reviewed approved by the IRB in compliance with federal regulations, its Federalwide Assurance and institutional policies and procedures. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County has a Federalwide Assurance (IRB registration number: IORG0000202 / FWA number: 00000069 approved through 06/16/2026) from the Office for Human Research Protections. Protocols describing research with human subjects must be submitted to and approved by the IRB before research use can begin.
Additionally, all personnel involved in protocol involving humans must complete required training prior to conducting the research.
Briefly, the protocol review process entails:
- Completion and submission of a Kuali IRB protocol. The Office of Research Protections and Compliance (ORPC) staff are available to answer any questions regarding the IRB submission process and IRB review of research studies.
- Review of a submitted protocol via the Exempt Review or Expedited Review processes or for full committee consideration at a scheduled meeting.
- Review of planning and development activities that lead to the submission of grant applications where human subjects use are planned in future but have not been finalized, or when a PI received a “just-in-time” notice from a granting agency and is requesting documentation of IRB approval.
- Post approval research activities including amendments to research, reporting of deviations, non-compliance and adverse incidents and protocol closures.
- The involvement of external research collaborators using an IRB reliance agreement (IAA) process or directly recruiting participants from the UMBC community with that institution’s current IRB approval.
Research compliance feedback and reporting research concerns