Human Subjects Protection Committee (HSC)

Institutional Review Board

The Mount St. Mary's College Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects serves as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the college as required by federal regulations in Title 45 Part 46. The role of the IRB is to ensure that research involving the participation of human subjects meets all federal guidelines, created to protect participants from harm, as well as providing a means for informing participants of their rights. The establishment of IRBs was a direct result of the Nuremburg Code in 1947, that set standards for ethical research with human subjects. In 1964, The Declaration of Helsinki set guidelines for biomedical research with human subjects. In 1974, as a response to unethical research being conducted in the United States, the National Research Act (PL 93-348) was enacted. Furthermore, in 1978, the Belmont Report was published by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, leading to the revison and expansion of the regulations that safeguard the rights of humans participating in research. [45 CFR 46 subparts A through D]

Application Instructions

In order to ensure that research conducted by MSMC faculty and/or students meets the guidelines for the protection of human subjects, an application to the Human Subjects Committee must be completed, submitted, and approved prior to the implementation of any actual research.

Download the application form and fill it out electronically. The application is a Word document that uses fill-in forms and requires you to enable macros if you are prompted. All applications to the Committee must contain a copy of the Assurance Training Certificate for all personnel who are to participate in the proposed research. Certificates can be obtained as the result of on-line training at the following website: http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php?l=3

Email the completed application form as an attachment, along with any other required documents, to the Human Subjects Protection Committee Chair, Robin L. Gordon. Please also print and sign a hard copy of the completed application and send it to:

Dr. Robin L. Gordon
Department of Education
Mount St. Mary's College
10 Chester Place
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Review of Applications
Review of applications occurs on a rolling basis and begins as soon as the Principal Investigator (PI) has submitted all application materials. Reviews typically can be completed within 2-3 weeks, at which time the Committee Chair will contact the PI with the committee's decision.

Policies on the Use of Human Subjects in Research
For more information on the regulations for using human subjects in research, please go to the website for the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).