 | |
IN THIS NEWSLETTER: Research in Action: Practical Considerations and Resources for Lending Equipment CITI Alternative for Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Demystifying the IRB Review Process Changes to our Committee: Thank You to Jack McDevitt and New Expertise Upcoming Events and Training Featured Friend of the DHR: Harvey | |
Research in Action: Practical Considerations and Resources for Lending Equipment We interviewed Dr. Aaron Seitz about his experience with lending devices — ranging from low-cost tablets to VR headsets — to research participants. His research explores cognition and cognitive training using custom-built software. To make participation accessible and inclusive, his lab ships pre-configured devices directly to participants’ homes. From considerations to practical logistics, Dr. Seitz shares insights and equipment release forms for researchers looking to lend devices in their own studies. Find the whole interview and example equipment release template here | |
CITI Alternative for Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) We’re pleased to announce that the DHR has determined that CIRTification satisfies our training requirements at Northeastern for community members who are collaborating with NU research teams. Non-Northeastern researchers who are being added to a non-exempt study via an Individual Investigator Agreement (meaning they are not affiliated with another research institution who has an IRB – most often this applies to community members who are collaborating with NU research teams) may complete the CIRTification training instead of CITI to satisfy our training requirements. | |
Demystifying the IRB Review Process Reviewer Guides Now Published We often hear from our research community that they wish they better understood what the IRB looks for when reviewing protocols. To help eliminate some of this uncertainty—and make the IRB process feel less daunting—we’ve made our internal IRB Reviewer Guides publicly available on our website. These guides outline the criteria our reviewers apply and the scope of our evaluations. While use of these guides is not required, investigators may find them to be a valuable resource as they prepare their submissions. We hope this added transparency supports a smoother and more informed submission experience. You can view the full set of reviewer guides here Updated Consent and Assent Templates Now Available We’re pleased to share that our consent and assent templates have been revised to be more user-friendly and aligned with current regulatory guidance. These updated templates are designed to be easier for research teams to complete and clearer for participants to understand. While there is no requirement to revise existing forms, we encourage teams to consider using the new versions for upcoming studies. | |
Changes to our Committee: Thank You to Jack McDevitt and New Expertise It is with sincere appreciation—and some sadness—that we share the news that Dr. Jack McDevitt will be stepping down as a valued member of the IRB. For more than 15 years, Jack has been an integral part of our review process. His deep institutional knowledge, steadfast commitment to protecting human research participants, and consistently thoughtful reviews have made a lasting impact on our work and community. Over the past three years, we’ve introduced significant changes to the IRB review process. Jack’s insight and support have been instrumental during this time of transformation, particularly in guiding our approach to research involving prisoner populations. We are deeply grateful for his service and contributions and wish him all the best in his next chapter. We are also pleased to announce some additions to the Panel: Dr. Aaron Seitz, Professor, Psychology, Professor of Psychology, Bouvé and Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being Dr. Sarah Lageson, Associate Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. | |
Upcoming Events and Training Our Summer schedule of IRB 101 and IRB Topics starts soon. You can expect new offerings announced in the Fall newsletter. Please be sure to visit our Calendar of Events which lists all our events, including drop-in hours, for our scheduled hours and details of how to join. July August | |
Featured Friend of the DHR: Harvey Harvey, Claire’s daughter, is the 2nd youngest member of the IRB team and the President of her local Toddlers Against Naps chapter. She can be seen here helping Elmo and Moo study for the CIP exam.
| |
Suggestions or feedback? Complete our DHR Satisfaction Survey or email [email protected]! If you received this, you are already subscribed. To add others to the newsletter, please have them Subscribe. |
