Mission of the Institutional Review Board

The mission of the IRB is to:

  • Protect the rights and welfare of human subjects who participate in research conducted by faculty, staff, and students of Northeastern University. The NU IRB follows the basic ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice as set forth in the Belmont Report. These principles are codified in 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 46 – Protection of Human Subjects.
  • Independently assess and evaluate the risks and benefits of proposed research, and ensure that risks to human subjects are kept to an absolute minimum and are justified by potential benefits of the research.
  • Ensure the confidentiality of information obtained from research subjects to the extent allowed by law.
  • Ensure that, where appropriate, an Informed Consent or Informed Consent and Health Information Use and Disclosure Authorization is obtained from each research subject.
  • Facilitate high quality research at Northeastern University.
  • Create a cooperative process, encouraging dialogue with researchers.
  • Comply with applicable state and federal privacy laws.