Adam McClintock, MBA, CIPResearch is an essential part of health care. Every year, new discoveries are made that allow us to better understand the human body. Many of these discoveries would not be possible without enrolling patients as research participants. This is where the UAB Institutional Review Board (IRB) comes in. By protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects, UAB is able to continue learning through conducting human subjects research while also ensuring the health and safety of the participants.

Due to the involved nature of the IRB review process, submitting research projects for review can prove to be challenging. In order to simplify the process and support investigators, the IRB has introduced office hours. This initiative was established in the summer of 2021 to provide additional support to the research community, clear up confusion surrounding the submission process, and potentially reduce the number of back-and-forth iterations in the process.

The Heersink School of Medicine spoke with Adam McClintock, MBA, CIP, director of the Office of the IRB, and Natalie Gassman, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pathology, to learn more about IRB office hours and what you can expect during a session.

Can you provide an overview of the IRB office hours initiative? What motivated the introduction of this initiative?

Natalie Gassman, Ph.DThe chairs and vice chairs of the Research Committee have collaborated with the Office of Research to lessen the burden for researchers over the past several years. The office hours were a natural evolution of these interactions to allow researchers to ask specific questions relating to their protocol submissions and understand the review and approval process better.

How often are these office hours held, and who can attend?

 Office hours currently occur bi-weekly. They are open to the UAB research community, including students and staff. These office hours give researchers direct access to an experienced Office of the Institutional Review Board staff member. Attendees are initially triaged by their needs and matched with experienced personnel to best address their questions and concerns.

How do the IRB office hours help address the challenging nature of IRB review?

A primary goal of the office hours is to improve the quality and completeness of IRB submissions, which will reduce the number of iterations and revisions between the office and researchers. The sessions are well attended, often with 20 or more participants during each session, and individuals who have participated in office hours have informally expressed their satisfaction.

“I attended office hours this fall to prepare an exempt protocol,” Gassman said. “I was quickly triaged to a breakout room and matched with someone for a one-on-one conversation within five minutes. My questions were answered completely, and I received good feedback on items needed for my submission. My entire experience was about 20 minutes from start to finish from when I joined.”

What steps has the committee taken to implement and promote IRB office hours?

The Faculty Senate research committee has been highlighting the Office of Institutional Review Board’s office hours in their committee report during the Faculty Senate meeting. The office hours are also advertised weekly in the Research Matters newsletter and featured on the UAB Campus Calendar. However, we need help spreading the word about these office hours and increasing their use.

How can people best utilize the IRB office hours? What kind of support and resources are available during these sessions?

Bring your protocol. Bring your phone script, advertisement, consent form, or survey so specific examples and questions can be answered. You will benefit most from these processes by being specific and prepared. This does not mean that someone new to submitting to IRB cannot come and ask general questions about the types of submissions, general considerations, or anything else. Office hours are an opportunity to get the advice you need to submit the best protocol possible, which is advantageous in addressing your needs. It would also be helpful to review the recommendations and templates the UAB IRB provides.

Office hours are held bi-weekly on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. See upcoming dates or join an office hour session.