Connecting People and Information

The OVCRI works to ensure the safe, ethical, and productive conduct of research at Illinois. Research is a highly regulated endeavor, with rules governing everything from financial disclosures to scientific diving. A priority for my office is connecting people with the information they need to navigate these complexities. One of the most complex areas of research involves the study of people, or “human subjects.”

Since joining the university last fall, Sarah Mumford, the director of the Office for Protection of Research Subjects, has been improving access to tools and resources for researchers who study humans. I am delighted to announce that last week, Sarah and the OVCRI communications team launched a completely reworked and vastly improved OPRS website. The new site includes helpful guidance, such as “Does my study need IRB approval?,” an overview of the review process, and easily searchable access to commonly used forms, among many other features. Perhaps most importantly, though, it sets the stage for our electronic IRB system, which we plan to deploy later this year. 

Please join me in celebrating this important milestone and thank Sarah and the rest of the OPRS team members for their ongoing hard work to modernize the university’s IRB oversight and submission process!

Sincerely,

Susan