IRB converting to email submission system
Deadline for paper submissions is Nov. 1
Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Researchers,
The Institutional Review Board has undergone many changes since July. First, the former Compliance Manager, Ms. Rebekah Soule, left the university and has been replaced by Mr. Andrew Ellis, Assistant Director for Research Compliance. Andy received a Master's of Science from Northwestern University in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Science, joining Loyola in early August. Before Rebekah left Loyola, she developed a set of online application forms in an Adobe Acrobat format that can be completed with the free, downloadable Acrobat Reader. Andy has worked to convert all forms to writeable Adobe Acrobat forms, with the help of Ms. Stephanie Augustine, Administrative Assistant for ORS.
The IRB is ready to go to an all email submission system. It will not accept paper application forms after November 1, 2009. Please visit our new website at http://www.luc.edu/irb_dev/irb_home.shtml to be certain that you are submitting forms that are up-to-date. One of Rebekah's major accomplishments before she left was to complete a new Investigator's Guide to the IRB Review Process. This guide, which is available from a link at the IRB home page, should answer any questions you may have about the new process. One of the best things about the email submission process is that multiple copies of applications are no longer required, and neither are signatures on forms. Investigators no longer need to deliver items to the Office of Research Services in inclement weather. All that is required is that the application be submitted from a Loyola University email address to irb@luc.edu by the Principal Investigator. For undergraduate and graduate students, application materials should be forwarded to the faculty sponsors, who will then forward them to irb@luc.edu, indicating their approval and endorsement of materials. Again, signatures are no longer required!
I hope you will find the IRB’s new application procedures to your liking. The feedback we have received thus far is quite favorable. I apologize for the abruptness of the change to the electronic submission system, but feel it is necessary to guarantee that submissions arrive on forms that are current. Beyond November 1, 2009, the IRB will no longer accept paper applications or electronic versions of the older WORD-based documents.
Sincerely,
Toby Dye, Chairman
Institutional Review Board
Loyola University Chicago