Institutional Review Boards

The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) assists investigators in fulfilling their obligation to plan and conduct experiments using human subjects in accord with the highest scientific, humane and ethical principles, and in conformity with all laws, regulations and rules governing research subjects.

ORI facilitates the work of the institutional oversight committees, the two Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and serves as a liaison between investigators and the federal government, interpreting the guidelines and regulations that govern research involving human subjects.

The IRBs are the university’s review mechanism for research projects that involve human subjects. Federal law and Marshall University policy mandate prior IRB approval of protocols for ALL experimentation involving human subjects, regardless of whether or not the research is funded by a federal agency. The institution has an approved Federal-wide Assurance with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:  Assurance Identification Number FWA00002704

Marshall University currently has two IRBs:  a Medical IRB (IRB#1) and a Behavioral and Social Sciences IRB (IRB#2). The university also relies on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) central IRBs. These studies include Cooperative Group, Phase 3 clinical trials under the NCI Central IRB #1 (adult) and Childrens Oncology Group (COG) Phase 2 and 3 under the NCI Pediatric Central IRB #2 (pediatric).

Choose the IRB appropriate to the nature of your study. Please submit the application package and the protocol to the IRB for review using our online submission system, IRBNet.

If you are unsure which IRB is appropriate for your proposed research project, please call the ORI at 304-696-4303 for assistance.