Announcements

Amazon has announced that Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) will permanently close on September 30, 2026. Researchers who use MTurk to recruit participants or distribute surveys will need to transition to another platform. For IRB-approved studies, replacing MTurk may require an amendment before the new recruitment or data-collection method is implemented. Researchers should plan accordingly and contact the IRB if they have questions. 

We are pleased to announce the release of an updated protocol template for social-behavioral and secondary data use research. The revised template has been designed to help investigators provide a clearer and more complete description of their research, supporting a more efficient review process.  The new template is available now on the HRPP website: https://hrpp.usc.edu/irb/forms-and-templates/.  To provide investigators with time to transition, the HRPP will continue to accept submissions using the prior template through August 31. Beginning September 1, all new social-behavioral and secondary data use protocol submissions must use the revised template. Submissions received on or after September 1 that use the previous version will be returned with a request to resubmit using the updated template. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback about the new template, please contact the HRPP office at hrpp@usc.edu. 

Please review updates made to the USC HRPP Policy in the link below. HRPP Policy 12/10/24

Click below to review updates made to the USC HRPP Policy. Click here

Click below to access the August 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more. Click here

Click below to access the July 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more. Click here

Click below to access the June 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the May 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the April 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the March 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the February 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the January 2024 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the December 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the November 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more. Click here

Click below to access the October 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the September 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more. Click here

In our August newsletter we announced our new Social Behavioral and/or Secondary Research Protocol template. All studies that involve secondary research, including the use of retrospective data and/or data that were previously collected for non-research purposes, will now be submitted using our new Social Behavioral/Secondary Research Protocol. Please do not use the “Coded Specimens/Data” application in iStar and instead, select “Exempt Review” in section 5.1. As of 8/21/23, you must use the new Social Behavioral/Secondary Research protocol template found on our Forms and Templates page. Use of the incorrect protocol will result in the application being returned as incomplete. Please refer to our Getting Started page and IRB Submission Guidelines to ensure that studies submitted are ready for review and positioned for appropriate action.

Click below to access the August 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the July 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the June 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

A press release issued on May 3, 2023 announced that LAC+USC has changed its name to Los Angeles General Medical Center. Effective immediately, you must use the correct name (Los Angeles General Medical Center) in your protocol, consent, and recruiting materials. Studies submitted on or after today, May 31, 2023, that do not include the correct name information will be returned without review to incorporate those changes. Your study will be returned to you if it was already submitted prior to Wednesday, May 31, 2023, to incorporate those changes. Ongoing Studies For ongoing studies, the changes to recruitment and consent materials should be made at the next amendment. If you do not, the amendment will be returned to incorporate those changes. Continuing Review (CR) If you are still enrolling new participants, and have recruitment materials and consent(s) that require name changes, you should submit an amendment to make those changes

Click below to access the May 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the April 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the March 2023 HRPP Pulse, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the February 2023 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the January 2023 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the December 2022 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the November 2022 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

The OPRS and IRB offices will be closed during USC’s Winter Recess from Monday, December 19, 2022, through Monday, January 2, 2023. We will also be observing the Thanksgiving holiday (November 24-25). Due to the upcoming winter recess, some timelines and Full Board meeting dates have been modified. Biomedical continuing reviews and full board amendments will be prioritized over new submissions. Continuing reviews must be submitted by the end of November if the study is expected to expire by 2/7/23 to be assigned to an agenda for review prior to their expiration. Please note applications not submitted by this deadline may not be reviewed prior to the study expiration. Revised Biomedical Full Board Schedule IRB 2: Meeting on 11/10 and 12/8 [12/22 meeting is cancelled] IRB 3: Meeting on 12/6 [12/20 meeting is cancelled]; 1/3/23 meeting moved to 1/10/23, and 1/17/23 meeting moved to 1/24/23. All IRB meeting dates can

Click below to access the October 2022 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

The newly revised Guide to Sponsored Research at USC is now available! The guide is a reference tool that highlights USC policies and procedures related to sponsored projects and the relevant offices that have a role in sponsored research at USC. It also includes contact information and links to more information for each subject. Please refer to this guide both in the proposal preparation stage and throughout the course of your research. Guide to Sponsored Research Procedures at USC Fall 2022

Click below to access the September 2022 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

Click below to access the August 2022 OPRS & IRB Scene, a monthly newsletter of updates, tips and more.  Click here

In general, consent may be obtained electronically using DocuSign or REDCap. You may obtain HIPAA authorization electronically using DocuSign or REDCap for all studies, irrespective of risk level. In the event your participant population cannot access DocuSign or another secure and encrypted online platform (e.g., REDCap), you may consider having participants take photographs of their signed consents using their cell phones and emailing them to the study team. Make sure you document the consent process so that anyone examining your approach will be able to see how consent was obtained in good faith. For FDA regulated studies, REDCap may not be used to obtain consent or HIPAA authorization. USC has a Part 11 Complaint version of DocuSign that may be used for consent and HIPAA authorization. When conducting consent electronically, participant identity verification is required. 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance  REDCap – We have received updated guidance that REDCap is

Updates effective July 12, 2021 Reminder: All study personnel are required to adhere to USC’s requirements for education and their accompanying certificates. Applications cannot be approved if any member of the research team is not in compliance with this requirement. Applications will not be approved if any member of the study team does not have the requisite current certificate(s). All members of the research team must have current Human Subjects Certificate from CITI. All study personnel conducting research that has been determined to meet the NIH’s definition of a Clinical Trial must have current Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Certificate from CITI. All study personnel conducting research that requires access to Protected Health Information (PHI) must complete Research HIPAA Certification from CITI. This applies to those obtaining their initial certifications effective July 12, 2021, and will be required of all at the time of renewing Human Subjects and/or GCP certification from this date

IRB approval for quality improvement projects or activities is not required if the investigator has no intention to contribute to generalizable knowledge (publish) and data is meant solely for internal use. If the investigator, some time after the quality improvement activities have been completed, decides they want to publish the results from number 1 above they would need to seek IRB approval to conduct a secondary data analysis on data collected originally not for research purposes. If the investigator at the outset of the quality improvement activity is already thinking about publishing what they might discover, IRB approval must be sought before beginning the data collection. The investigator cannot receive retrospective IRB approval for data that was collected for both quality improvement and research purposes.