The Institutional Review Board (IRB) Office has been established to oversee the protection of human research subjects at Boston Children's Hospital. Boston Children's is committed to safeguarding the rights and welfare of all children, adolescents, adults, and family members who volunteer to participate in research. To this end, the IRB Office upholds the principles of the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research as the cornerstone of our mission, organization, and daily activities.
The IRB Office is charged with two functions:
- To provide administrative support for Children's Institutional Review Board (IRB), which was established to assure the protection of all human subjects in research projects by reviewing and approving all research that involves human subjects conducted by anyone on the premises of or under the auspices of Boston Children's Hospital.
- To provide a mechanism for continual education and improvement for the human research protection program at Boston Children's through the Education and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP). The goal of EQuIP is to provide education and assist investigators conduct human subjects research according to the highest ethical standards, in compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations, and according to Good Clinical Practice guidelines through randomized or voluntary study reviews, personalized tools, and recommendations.
We welcome investigators and research staff to drop in with questions or set up meetings. The IRB Office is located at 401 Park, Landmark Center, 7th Floor East. We can be reached by phone at 617-355-7052. Our website can be found at http://www.childrenshospital.org/research/IRB.