IRB Meeting Dates & Deadlines

Exempt and Expedited Review:
Exempt and Expedited Review is performed when the human research poses no greater than minimal risk and the research procedures fit into one or more of the federally defined Exempt or Expedited Review categories. Exempt or Expedited Review is performed “in-house” by one or more designated reviewers on a rolling basis; review by the convened IRB is not required.
Applicable Expedited continuing review applications should be submitted 21 days prior to the study’s expiration date. To find out whether your human research is eligible for expedited review, please contact your IRB Review Specialist.”

Convened IRB or “Full Board” Review:
Convened IRB or “Full Board” Review occurs monthly. The Office of Human Research Administration supports two IRB panels: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Faculty of Medicine. In general, investigators can expect to have the IRB associated with their primary appointment perform IRB review. Cross-panel review, however, may occur if the alternate IRB’s composition is better suited to review the proposed Human Research. Applications and related study materials must be submitted by the noted “Submission Deadline” for consideration at the corresponding meeting. Assignment to an agenda is not automatic and may vary depending on the quality and completeness of the submission, complexity of the project, required ancillary reviews, responsiveness of the PI to clarifications requested from the IRB review specialist, and attaining quorum at the monthly meeting.