The Allegheny College IRB oversees research involving human subjects. The Common Rule requires all institutions, including colleges and universities, to have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) in place to assure that the rights and welfare of all human research participants are protected. Therefore, the IRB reviews all studies involving human participants prior to the initiation of work, approves research that meets established criteria for the protection of human subjects, and ensures that human participants are properly informed and protected during the study.
Anything that will be seen by, shared with, or done with research participants must be reviewed and approved by the IRB before the research can begin.
Before any project can be approved by the IRB, researchers involved in the design, data collection, or analysis must have current OHRP (Office of Human Research Protection) certification through the CITI Program. It is the responsibility of investigators to ensure that their CITI Social & Behavioral Health certification is current.
- Please read and follow these instructions for completing your Social & Behavioral Health certification.
- Following the completion of the CITI training, researchers must complete an IRB proposal. Only after the proposal has been approved by the IRB can the research begin.
- Please refer to this document to help you determine the level of IRB review needed.
- Researchers are required to use this proposal form.
- Researchers with questions can contact the IRB via email at irb@allegheny.edu.
Other resources for researchers conducting human subjects research at Allegheny College:
- IRB Informed Consent Template
- IRB Amendment to Current Protocol
- IRB Incident Report Form
- IRB Continuing Review Form
2024-2025 IRB Committee Members
- Dr. Amelia Finaret, Chair
- Dr. Greg Kapfhammer
- Dr. Guo Wu
- Dr. Christopher Normile
- Tonya Reed