Institutional Review Board

The Department of Public Health (Department or DPH) maintains an Institutional Review Board which is charged with assuring that the rights of human subjects of research conducted or sponsored by the Department are protected as outlined in federal and state policies and regulations. All research projects that involve human subjects must be submitted to the Board for review and approval prior to their initiation.

Who Should Apply:

Approval must be obtained for all research involving human subjects when:

a) the research is conducted by or sponsored by the Department;
b) the research requires access to the Department’s subject pool;
c) the subjects are employees of the Department;
d) the research requires access to data held by the Department;
e) before implementing any amendments to previously approved research protocols.

Approval must be obtained prior to any involvement of the subjects. The approval by the Board is limited to no more than a 12-month period and must be renewed at least annually to continue the involvement of subjects.

Processing Fees:

All externally funded projects are subject to a processing fee. The fee is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the review and must be paid before the initial review of the application. The fee schedule is as follows:

Initial Applications:
• 10% of the amount of the grant/award up to a maximum fee of $1,500 for expedited or full reviews
  
• No Fee for studies meeting the criteria for exemption from IRB review

Amendments:
• $250 for major changes that must be reviewed by the full Board
• No Fee for minor changes that can be reviewed using the expedited review procedures

Continuing Reviews:
• 5% of the amount of the grant/award up to a maximum fee of $750 for studies with ongoing data collection/contact with human subjects
• $250 for studies where only data analysis/manuscript preparation is ongoing

The following types of projects are exempt from the processing fees:

1) Projects conducted by faculty, unless the project is funded from external sources
2) Projects conducted by undergraduate or graduate students, unless the project is funded from external sources
3) Projects where the Principal Investigator is a Georgia state employee, unless the project is funded from external sources

Checks should be made payable to DPH IRB. Include a short version of the project title and the name of the Principal Investigator on the check. Mail payment to:

Institutional Review Board
Georgia Department of Public Health
2 Peachtree Street, NW, 15th Floor
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Meeting Schedule:

DPH IRB meets on the last Friday of each month. Meeting schedule is subject to change without prior notice. Applications must be received by the 1st of the month to be included on the agenda for that month's meeting.

IRB Manual and Application Forms:

Only electronic applications on the DPH IRB forms will be accepted. All forms must be signed with a digital signature. Scanned or mailed applications will not be accepted.

Initial Application (Revised May 9, 2012)
Amendment to an Existing Protocol (Revised Jan 6, 2012)
Continuing Review Application (Revised May 9, 2012)
Digital Signatures - Instructions
IRB Guidance to Research Using Human Subjects Manual (Revised Feb 1, 2012 )

NOTE: These forms require Adobe Acrobat Reader X or newer which can be downloaded at: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Contact Information:

Luke Fiedorowicz, Ph.D.
Director and Chair
Institutional Review Board
Department of Public Health
2 Peachtree Street, 16-432
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 657-6645
lufiedorowicz@dhr.state.ga.us