Research | Human Subjects | IRB Compliance Statement - University of Houston
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Research | Human Subjects | IRB Compliance Statement

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Protocols and Approvals 

The University of Houston is committed to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and public service. Concomitantly, the university seeks to protect the welfare of every person who may become a participant in research projects undertaken by UH faculty, staff, and students. 

Review and oversight of research involving human subjects or identifiable data derived from human subjects is the charge of a federally mandated committee called an Institutional Review Board, or IRB. The University of Houston has three IRBs. The IRB is responsible for safeguarding of the rights and welfare of all persons participating in University of Houston research projects in accordance with federal regulations and the ethical principles established by the Belmont Report.

Prior to proposing research to the IRB, please review the regulations applicable to your project. 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 46 (“The Common Rule”) specifically addresses the protection of human study subjects as promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services(DHHS). Regardless of funding, all research at UH is held to the DHHS standard. 21 CFR 50 and 21 CFR 56 are the general regulations that govern U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated research. FDA regulations 21 CFR 312 and 21 CFR 812 govern research involving drugs and devices, respectively.

All UH faculty, staff or students proposing to engage in any research activity involving the use of human subjects must have approval from the IRB prior to the recruitment of subjects or the initiation of research procedures. Any questions regarding the IRB or the Standard Operating Procedures and tools found in our online submission system should be directed to the IRB office at cphs@central.uh.edu. The submission of applications to the IRB is currently handled through ICON, the Integrated Compliance Oversight Network.

The University of Houston’s Federalwide Assurance number is FWA 00005994.

The main phone line for the IRB office is (713) 743-9204, and our email address is cphs@central.uh.edu.

For more information about Human Subjects and IRB, please consult: https://uh.edu/research/compliance/irb/