February 10, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Institutional Review Board has made significant progress in re-starting projects and issuing re-approvals for projects affected by the January OPRR notification.

All projects that have been presented to the IRB that have currently enrolled patients have been cleared for continuation.

By February 18, the IRB will have completed all re-review projects deemed high priority for which materials have been presented. The review of second-tier priority projects is already under way. Deans and faculty worked quickly and cooperatively to prioritize projects for the IRB.

The IRB is also reviewing and approving new projects according to the revised procedures.

UAB has added an additional professional staff member to assist the IRB with its work.