New joint pediatric institutional review board streamlines process

More on the Joint Peds IRB office The Joint Peds IRB office is administratively located in the Office of Regulatory Affairs at UNMC. For more information visit the IRB Web site.

Conducting research at UNMC and Children’s Hospital & Medical Center just got easier for pediatric investigators.

With the creation of a Joint Pediatric Institutional Review Board, (Joint Peds IRB), investigators now can go through one IRB office for approval of research involving children that is conducted by the faculty, students, staff or other representatives of UNMC or Children’s Hospital & Medical Center.

“This helps streamline the process for researchers who may be conducting research at both institutions,” said Bruce Gordon, M.D., chairman of the Joint Peds IRB and professor of pediatrics at UNMC.

It also allows the IRB to make sure that federal and ethical protections are applied consistently to all patients involved in research, Dr. Gordon said.

“This expands the amount of resources now available to the researchers at Children’s,” said Andrew Macfadyen, M.D., vice chairman of the Joint Peds IRB and attending physician in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center.

The decision to combine the institutional review boards of both institutions came on the heels of the academic affiliation agreement, Dr. Gordon said.
It will bode well for both institutions, Dr. Macfadyen said.

“Between the office of pediatric research and the joint IRB, things are really taking off,” he said. “This will increase both of our standings on the national scene.”