Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Availability of IRB Meeting Results
- If my project is going to be reviewed by the full board, when and how do I hear the results of the IRB meeting?
When a project is required to go to a meeting of the full IRB committee, the PI/research coordinator are notified by e-mail
generally no later than the Friday after the meeting if revisions are required. The IRB typically uses the Mount Sinai e-mail
system to send e-mails out, if another e-mail address is necessary, you should document that clearly on your protocol summary
(question 21) and in your memos to the IRB.
Until the results are finalized in the days after a meeting, the IRB team will not tell you information about the review. This
is to avoid giving out any incorrect information.
If your project does not require revisions, you will not be contacted until your approval documents are ready to be provided to you.
If you have not been contacted within approximately nine workdays after the IRB meeting, there may be in issue with your submission
(such as a contract issue), and you should call the IRB. Similarly, if there are any special circumstances with your submission, call
the IRB.
What happens if my project is deferred?
If your project is deferred (requires review by the full committee again) the deadline to have your project reviewed at the next
IRB meeting is the Tuesday following the previous IRB meeting at 5 P.M.
Please Note: We are aware this is a short window of time in order to resubmit for
the next meeting. However, we have decided to allow a short window rather than no window at all, in an effort to further accommodate
researchers. If you are unable to meet that deadline, there is another deadline in approximately two weeks. Please try not to
wait until the day of the deadline to hand in your submission. Please see list of our
meeting dates and deadlines.  - What happens if my project is 'approved pending minor revisions'?
If your project becomes "approved pending minor revisions" it means that the project is almost, but not yet approved, since you
still have some minor work to do in order to secure approval. Just like a deferral, you cannot begin working on the project yet.
What makes it different from a deferral decision is that your
subsequent resubmission does not need to be reviewed by the full committee. There are no deadlines for these resubmissions, but
you would want to respond as soon as possible, as the IRB reviews and approves these submissions in a rolling fashion in order
of resubmission.
- What happens if my project is 'expedited'?
The process works a bit differently for projects that do not require
review at a full committee meeting. These are called expedited reviews, which does not necessarily mean "faster". In this
process, one of our administrators and Chairs (or their designees) will review your project and contact you with the results of
their review, and if any revisions or clarifications are required, you will resubmit your application based on their
recommendations and suggestions. Once you have taken care of all of the outstanding issues, the project can be approved and you
will be notified when your approval is ready to pick up.
- When should I start to worry and call the IRB to check the status?
If you know your project requires full-board review, pay attention to the deadline and meeting schedule. Results from the
full-board meetings are usually available three days after the IRB meeting whose deadline was met. If you have not heard from
the IRB by then, please contact us.
If your project is expedited, if you have not heard back from the IRB within two weeks of submission, please contact us. Also, if there
are any special or unusual issues with your project, please contact the IRB.
In the near future, we will be launching our electronic IRB submission system that will enable you to view the status of your
submission at any time!
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