Human Research Protections Program (IRB)

Rice University protects the rights and safety of human participants involved in research while complying with relevant ethical and legal standards as described in the university’s Human Research Protection Policy. Rice is committed to supporting ethical standards set forth in the Belmont Report and ensuring compliance with the Common Rule (45 CFR 46) and relevant FDA regulations (21 CFR 50 and 56). The Executive Vice President for Research serves as the Institutional Official for the HRPP and has designated the Office of Research Integrity as responsible for implementing programmatic requirements. Rice University maintains their Federal-wide Assurance (FWA) with the Office of Human Research Protections (FWA00003890) and maintains registration for one Institutional Review Board (IRB00003061). HRPP staff support the IRB by providing subject matter expertise, guidance, and compliance monitoring for approximately 1,200 active studies, primarily for social, behavioral, and educational research, with a small portion of clinical trials and biomedical research studies. To support Rice’s strong collaborative research activities, the IRB engages in reliance agreements with a wide range of collaborative research sites.

Website:  https://research.rice.edu/integrity/irb

Source:  Mickey Stevenson, Assistant Vice President for Research Integrity

Last updated:  December 2025