The Graduate School, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Human Research Protection Program: Guidance

UW-Madison's Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and

Human Research Protection Program Advisory Committee

Health Sciences IRB

The HS IRB reviews research protocols involving medical interventions or procedures where medical expertise is required for evaluation.

Contact: Nichelle Cobb, Ph.D., Director, HS IRB Office, 608-263-2362, website

IRB Chair: Yoram Shenker, M.D., Professor of Medicine, 608-263-9221

Health Sciences Minimal Risk IRB

The MR IRB reviews primarily research protocols that present minimal risk to subjects and that involve medical interventions or procedures requiring medical expertise or that require knowledge of the health care setting (e.g., medical records research, research database and tissue banking projects, survey and interview research, and exemption applications). The MR IRB can review more than minimal risk research, when the committee consists of members with the appropriate expertise or ad hoc consultant(s) are appointed, should additional expertise be necessary.   
Contact: Gretchen Anding, M.A., Manager, MR IRB, 608-263-4170, website

IRB Chair: Peter Rahko, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, 608-263-8838

Social and Behavioral Sciences IRB

The SBS IRB reviews social, behavioral, and non-medical health research. It does not have appropriate expertise for review of medical research, but may review research protocols involving minimal risk health-related studies, such as those involving exercise, tape sensors, and single venipuncture, where medical training is not necessary for the evaluation of risk to research participants. The SBS IRB reviews all non-medical prisoner protocols.

Contact: Lillian Larson, Assistant Director, SBS IRB, 608-265-4312, SBS IRB website

IRB Chair: Lyn Turkstra, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communicative Disorders, 608-262-7583

Education Research IRB

The ED IRB specializes in education research. It does not have appropriate expertise for review of medical research, but may review research protocols involving minimal risk health-related studies, such as those involving exercise, tape sensors, and finger sensors, where medical training is not necessary for the evaluation of risk to research participants.

Contact: Michael Bingham, Assistant Director, ED IRB, 608-262-9710, ED IRB website

IRB Chair: Bradford Brown, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Psychology, 608-262-0838

Human Research Protection Program Advisory Committee

The HRPP Advisory Committee is responsible for oversight of the UW-Madison’s HRPP, including the UW-Madison IRBs. The Advisory Committee advises the UW-Madison Institutional Official and IRBs on issues relating to human research protection, including the suspension of research privileges and reporting to federal authorities of noncompliance, unanticipated problems and suspension and termination of research. It approves all HRPP policies and communicates those policies to the UW-Madison community. It oversees campus-wide communications and training regarding human research protections. It also hears investigator appeals from decisions of the UW-Madison IRBs on issues of noncompliance, unanticipated problems and suspensions and terminations of research and reviews matters referred to it by the IRBs.

Contact: Lois Kallunki, J.D., Graduate School, 608-262-1224, website

Advisory Committee Chair: William Mellon, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research Policy, 608-262-1044