Research | IRB Mission & Purpose

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) Office has been established to oversee the protection of human research subjects at Boston Children's Hospital. Children's Hospital is committed to safeguarding the rights and welfare of all children, adolescents, adults and family members who volunteer to participate in research. To this end, the IRB Office upholds the principles of the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research, as the cornerstone of our mission, organization and daily activities.

The IRB Office is charged with two functions: To provide administrative support for Boston Children's Hospital's Institutional Review Board (IRB) which was established to assure the protection of all human subjects in research projects by reviewing and approving all research that involves human subjects conducted by anyone on the premises of or under the auspices of Children's Hospital. To provide a mechanism for continual education and improvement for the human research protection program at Children's Hospital through the Education and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP). The goal of EQuIP is to provide education and assist investigators conduct human subjects research according to the highest ethical standards, in compliance with federal, state and institutional regulations, and according to Good Clinical Practice guidelines through randomized or voluntary study reviews, personalized tools and recommendations.

We welcome investigators and research staff to drop in with questions or set up meetings. 

We can be reached by phone at 617-355-7052 or fax at 617-730-0226. 

Mail for the IRB should only be sent to the following address:

Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Boston Children’s Hospital
Mailstop: BCH 3164
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA  02115

The IRB Office is physically located at 401 Park Drive, 7th Floor East, Boston, MA 02115.