Institutional Review Board
Institutional Review Board
Western University of Health Sciences Institutional Review Board ( WesternU IRB) is an administrative committee designated to provide ethical and regulatory oversight of research that involves human subjects. IRBs exist to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of human subjects involved in research projects, consistent with ethical principles and federal, state and local regulations. For human subject research conducted internationally, additional local regulations and international standards apply and are overseen by ethics committees in respective countries along with WesternU IRB oversight.
IRBs are enacted under federal regulation, specifically 45 CFR 46, and are regulated by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). There are additional requirements for IRBs overseeing clinical trials of drugs involved in new drug applications from the Food and Drug Administration (21 CFR 56.111) and for studies supported by the Department of Defense.
Our Guiding Principles
We abide by principles put forth by the Belmont Report and the Common Rule, which guide the Office of Human Research Protections at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Further information on human subjects research is available from
