Overview

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The Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews all human subject research conducted at Mayo Clinic Florida (MCF), Mayo Clinic Rochester (MCR), or Mayo Clinic Arizona (MCA) and research conducted at other facilities under the direction of MCF, MCR, or MCA staff. A guarantee that all human subject research at Mayo will be reviewed by the IRB has been given to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a Federalwide Assurance (FWA00005001).

The IRB at Mayo began in 1971 as the "Committee on Investigations involving Human Subjects". From 1972 to 1983 it was known as the "Human Studies Committee". It was not until 1984 that the term Institutional Review Board was first used at Mayo. Since that time, the IRB has grown from a single committee to six Full Boards (the sixth approved to begin in January 2006). The volume of research protocols has also been steadily increasing.

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are committees charged by the United States government with protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research. The use of IRBs began in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) when a memorandum issued in 1966 required that investigators receiving funding from public health grants obtain a review of research by a "committee of his institutional associates".

In 2002, Mayo’s IRB reported submission of more than 2,500 new studies (full board and expedited). The average among all other institutions surveyed by the New England Journal of Medicine was about 400, and 600 was the average for high volume institutions.

In 2004, 22,762, items were submitted to the IRB. This represents a 14% increase over the submissions in 2003. To date, submissions in 2005 are on pace to equal or exceed those of 2004.

There are nearly 6,500 active studies currently being managed by the IRB office. Approximately 2,000 of these are greater than minimal risk (Full Board) studies.

Mission

The primary mission of Mayo Clinic's IRB is to ensure the protection of rights, privacy and welfare of all human participants in research programs conducted by Mayo Clinic and associated faculty, professional staff, and students. Coexistent with participant protection is the goal of providing quality service to enhance the conduct of research. To achieve this goal, the IRB has the authority to review, approve, modify or disapprove research protocols submitted by faculty, staff and student investigators. The IRB review process is guided by federal rules and regulations, and is based on the Protection of Human Subject Code of Federal Regulations, the Belmont Report and provisions of 45CFR46 – Protection of Human Subjects requiring institutions receiving federal funds to have all research involving human participants be approved by an IRB.

Contact us

IRB Office Personnel
201 Building, Room 4-60
200 First Street SW
Rochester, Minnesota 55905
USA

General IRB Phone Number: 507-266-4000
Fax Number: 507-538-0051

Research Subject Advocate

Cheryl Thomas
Plummer Building
Floor 3, Room 20F
100 Second Ave SW
Rochester, MN 55905
USA

Tel: 507-266-9372
ResearchSubjectAdvocate@mayo.edu