What is an IRB?
An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that performs ethical reviews of proposed research to help assure the protection of the rights and welfare of human participants. The IRB approves the initiation of and conducts periodic reviews of research involving human participants. Investigators also share the responsibility for protecting human participants.
To submit an IRB application please visit www.irbnet.org.
IRBNet & CITI Training
- Where we register to be part of a research project/study that involves people.
- IRBNet Registration
If you do not have an account, go to IRBNet, then click “New User Registration” in the upper right-hand corner and follow the instructions. Your IRBNet account is NOT linked to your UMD ID.
- Where we register for and receive training that we can officially and legally “link” to a research project/study that involves people
- CITI Training Completion Guide
IRB requires all individuals engaged in human subject research at University of Maryland to complete CITI Training every three (3) years
Human Subject Research Training:
CITI Training for Investigators:
CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) Training (CITI Program) is widely considered the standard in online human subject research training. Ongoing education and training in protection of human participants is a federal requirement. Enhanced oversight, new requirements, and recent guidance provided by the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) have required actions to strengthen human research protections programs.
Initial Course:
Principal Investigators, Co-PIs and research team members must complete CITI Training before the Initial Application, or Continuing Review application can be fully approved, or they must be temporarily removed from the research team until the training has been completed. During the administrative review of these transactions, the IRB Office will be checking the CITI Training database to ensure that training has been completed. CITI Training will be checked during Amendment transactions.
Log on to: CITIProgram to complete the training. You will click Log On through My Institution in order to log in with your UMCP credentials. If you cannot complete the training in one sitting, you can save and finish at a later time. (You can stop and start as many times as you need).
To assist with having external investigators complete the CITI Training, please email the IRB Office at irb@umd.edu.
Refresher Course:
If you remain engaged in human subject research, the CITI Training Refresher Course must be completed every three (3) years. You will receive reminders at 60, 45, 30, and 15 days prior to expiration of your training.
Log on to CITIProgram to complete the training. If you cannot complete the training in one sitting, you can save and finish at a later time. (You can stop and start as many times as you need).
Linking CITI Training Completion Report to your Project:
CITI Training Completion Reports must be linked to your project in order for the IRB to proceed with the approval process. This is a fairly simple process:
- Add CITI Completion Report to your IRBNet User Profile. Once you are logged into IRBNet, click USER PROFILE in the upper right corner of the screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click Add New Record. Follow the instructions to attach the PDF version of your completed CITI Training.
- Link your CITI Completion Report. During your Initial Application or next package submission in IRBNet, link your CITI Completion Report to the project. To do this, click Designer and then click Link/Unlink Completion Report near the middle of the page. Follow the instructions. This should be done for each member of the research team.
- PLEASE NOTE: You must link your training with EACH project of which you are a research team member. If the IRB Office receives your application without the CITI Completion Report of each research team member, the project will be unlocked so you may add them before we continue with the review process.
- NOTE: You do not need to “submit” your training to a Committee in order to upload your Completion Report to your profile or to link your report to an IRBNet submission.
HIPAA Training for Investigators:
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) Training ensures that national health information privacy standards issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) are upheld. Research organizations and researchers may or may not be covered by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Covered entities may use and disclose protected health information (PHI) for research with authorization or without individual authorization under limited circumstances.
Video Tutorial
New Project & Initial Application Part 1
The IRB Process
Resources
Contact the IRB:
For more information, reach out to the IRB Liaison or UMD’s Institutional Review Board
Institutional Review Board ∙ irb@umd.edu ∙ 301-405-4212 (Phone) ∙ 1204 Marie Mount Hall ∙ Hours: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
