A committee in an investigator’s institution set up to provide peer review for research programs supported by grants and contracts financed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Similar review is also required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for investigational new drugs. The committee may not have as members any persons who have professional responsibility in the conduct of the research. The research proposal is reviewed in terms of institutional commitments and regulations, applicable law, standards of professional conduct and practice, and community attitudes. The committee also is to ensure that informed consent of subjects is obtained by adequate and appropriate methods, whether or not the research involves risk to the subjects.
A medical oversight committee that governs or regulates medical investigations involving human subjects. The purpose of the board is to protect the rights and health of participants in clinical trials.