Q. When is IRB approval needed for research?

A. The IRB is federally mandated to review, monitor and approve biomedical and social, behavioral, and educational research involving human subjects. Some projects may be research studies that do not involve human subjects or research as defined by the Federal Final Rule. The PI can not make the final determination as to whether a project constitutes human subject research or not; that determination may only be made by the Tufts IRB. In addition, many journals and/or national organizations require a formal determination letter from the IRB in order to submit a manuscript or abstract. Please contact Ann-Marie Billig to start the IRB submission process.