IRB-HRPP

Mission and Purpose

Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Human Research Protection Program (HRPP)

Mission and Purpose

The mission of the University of South Florida's (USF) Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) is to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of human subjects who participate in the research programs at USF and its affiliated institutions.

The USF HRPP supports the university's dedication to excellence in research by promoting the ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The HRPP is authorized by USF Policy #0-305 (PDF) to protect human subjects who participate in research. The HRPP has a Federalwide Assurance (FWA00001669) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Human Research Protection (OHRP) and is registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The HRPP promotes the highest quality research and is accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP).

Scope

The USF HRPP pertains to all human subjects research conducted using any property or facility of USF or a USF Affiliate and under the direction of any employee, student, or agent of the USF or a USF Affiliate in connection with his/her USF assignment or IRB Authorization Agreement or an Individual Investigator Agreement.

If you have concerns, complaints, questions or wish to discuss your rights as a research subject, please contact the IRB Office at (813) 974-5638.

IRB Forms & Templates

Please note that the USF IRB is fully electronic. All application for initial review and all subsequent submissions related to that study must be submitted via ARC. If you have questions about the process, please call our help desk at 813-974-2880. To register for an ARC account, go to the ARC Portal and register online. ARC training is available for study teams. Please visit the Training & Updates page for additional information on the live Comprehensive Workshops.

Using ResearchMatch

ResearchMatch is an NIH-sponsored national registry of volunteers who have indicated a willingness to learn more about research studies. This registry aims to be an effective, useful and complementary recruitment tool that connects researchers with appropriate potential subjects. ResearchMatch is not just for clinical trials. It is available at no cost, to help match any type of IRB-approved study with potential participants.

ResearchMatch can be included in a research proposal as a part of a subject recruitment strategy. To use ResearchMatch users must have a USF faculty appointment and register for recruitment access with ResearchMatch. A research proposal that documents use of ResearchMatch must be approved by the IRB.

ResearchMatch enables researchers to search for appropriate matches in non-identifiable volunteer profiles. Once study criteria are entered into Search Builder, the secure ResearchMatch clearinghouse will route an "IRB-approved" recruitment message to each of the potential matches. A ResearchMatch dashboard will display volunteers who reply and will provide aggregate figures/charts demonstrating the response rate to the initial recruitment message. When a volunteer authorizes ResearchMatch to release his/her information, contact can be made by the researcher.