Back to Research@SMU Issue 44
SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer - Prof Ferrin first shared a slide indicating the members of the IRB and then explained the Principles of the Belmont Report, including examples of past research studies. Then, he explained the roles of the IRB and emphasised that having research protocols approved by the IRB is a win-win-win-win: Doing so protects the safety, welfare and rights of the research participants, the interests of researchers, the interests of SMU, and helps to advance scientific knowledge in an ethical way. He further defined what constitutes human participant research and briefly discussed the requirements of IRB approval for collection of new data, and use of existing data and publicly available data.
Next, Prof Ferrin described the different IRB review categories, the IRB review process, the required elements of informed consent, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training, and the core criteria for IRB approval. He also briefed the audience on SMU IRB’s review philosophy, the number and types of IRB applications reviewed each year, and turnaround times. Professor Steven Miller, the Vice Provost (Research) and Institutional Official of the SMU IRB, emphasised the need for SMU Community members to complete the CITI training, as it is necessary for them to be equipped with basic knowledge on research participant protection so that they can conduct research appropriately after obtaining IRB approval. He also emphasised the importance of researchers being aware of the need for IRB approval, and obtaining such approval prior to data collection. If a researcher were to collect data from human participants without prior IRB approval due to a lack of awareness, then a noncompliance report would be filed to bring the research into compliance and ensure there were no future lapses; however, if noncompliance was repeated or willful, it could result in disciplinary action.
Prof Ferrin then shared some IRB updates which included:
- the measures the SMU IRB and Subject Pool Coordinators have implemented to sufficiently inform and protect human participants recruited via the Subject Pool Systems;
- the draft FAQ on the Singapore Personal Data Protection Act’s requirements regarding the conduct of research involving human participants;
- changes to the “Exempt from further IRB review” process; and
- the IRB Handbook that was released in December 2016 and can be accessed via the IRB intranet.
Prof Ferrin also addressed some questions from the audience such as what constitutes conflict of interest, requirements of IRB approval for using data from collaborators, the submission process for protocol modification requests, the definitions of intervention and interaction with human participants, the accessibility to the IRB intranet, and the ways to obtain informed consent. He concluded the briefing by asking the audience to contact the SMU IRB at irb [at] smu.edu.sg if they have any questions or feedback on the IRB policies, procedures, forms and intranet.
The next IRB briefing will be conducted in September 2017.
