About IRB

IRB Administrative Office

The NYUSoM IRB Administrative Office facilitates the review process of human subject studies at NYUSoM and our affiliates (Bellevue Hospital, VA Medical Center, NYU College of Dentistry, NYU School of Nursing, Gouverneur Healthcare, Woodhull Hospital Center, Nathan Kline Institute and Charles B. Wang Health Center). Our staff provides professional guidance and support to the research community and helps researchers navigate the submission process. The IRB Administrative Office also serves as the Administrative office for 3 Institutional Review Boards at NYUSoM.

Institutional Review Boards
The IRBs at NYUSoM oversee all research involving human subjects. The IRBs have the authority, under federal regulation and institutional policy, to approve, require the modification of or disapprove research activities being conducted at NYUSoM. The IRBs also has the authority to suspend or terminate research that was previously approved in which unforeseen harm to subjects occurs, or that is not being conducted as approved by the IRB.

Federal Regulations define research involving human subjects as follows:
Research: a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities which meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program which is considered research for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities.

Human subject: a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains (1) Data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) Identifiable private information. Intervention includes both physical procedures by which data are gathered (for example, venipuncture) and manipulations of the subject or the subject's environment that are performed for research purposes. Interaction includes communication or interpersonal contact between investigator and subject. Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place, and information which has been provided for specific purposes by an individual and which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public (for example, a medical record). Private information must be individually identifiable (i.e., the identity of the subject is or may readily be ascertained by the investigator or associated with the information) in order to obtain the information to constitute research involving human subjects.

If your research does not fall into the definitions above you may not be conducting research involving human subjects and would not have to submit your project to the IRB for review. If you are not certain, or if you have questions and/or comments, please contact our IRB Administrative Office at 212-263-4110.