Understanding Our Human Research Protections Office

Our Human Research Protections Office (HRPO) provides oversight authority for research that involves our patients, employees and/or facilities; it currently oversees approximately 500 research studies and supports over 200 researchers. The HRPO team has five employees who are trained to review research applications using the federal, state and local regulations for research with human subjects.

Curiosity is one of our core values. Part of the work of providing care includes asking questions about how we can improve care. These questions lead to research that drives innovation and the discovery of new and improved treatments and therapies.

The HRPO team receives and considers applications from researchers. For example, a surgeon may notice a pattern in the recovery of patients between those who recover quickly and those who take more time to heal. Could there be a common factor among those who take more time to heal? For the surgeon to be able to review previous charts and collect data on the subject, he or she would need to submit a research application to the HRPO office.

HRPO has three distinct areas of focus including the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Education & Outreach to support researchers, and Internal Quality Assurance & Improvement Activities.

The Institutional Review Board is the governing body that implements research rules and regulations. If the same surgeon from the example above wants to undertake a project that will use patients as part of research on the subject, the application process is more complex. Our IRB will review the application because the results have the potential to change the standard of care.

"The IRB is a committee required by the federal government to oversee research that may include more than minimal risk for participants," explained Meredith Talmadge, HRPO director. "The IRB works hard to apply all regulations and policies when reviewing proposed research in order to protect human subjects. Patients can feel at ease when considering participation due to the dedicated efforts of our IRBs.”

IRB By the Numbers

We have three federally mandated IRBs that are responsible for reviewing and approving human-subjects research studies that require full board review.

An IRB must have a minimum of five members and the members must represent diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Each IRB board must have at least one scientist and one non-scientist, and at least one board member must be unaffiliated with the institution.

Our IRB has 31 members.

What People Are Saying About Participating in Our Research

"Participating in the study made me appreciate that Carilion does research, and I was pleased to be getting care from a research/teaching hospital."

"It was a very worthwhile study. It eliminated almost two hours of travel time."

"The physician and his research team were very professional and informative."

"Loved it would do it again!"

"The research coordinator was a nice person and very professional, and I appreciated the interaction."

"I hope that taking part in this research study will help."

"I liked my clinician a lot, and they helped me feel encouraged and successful and basically the whole experience was very good."

"It was excellent and I would do it again, it saved me a lot of travel time and money."

"Carilion is a very well managed and coordinated place, the wait times and the service you get, and everything was exceptional."

"It was easy and very well managed."

"It’s nice to get a little extra attention from someone and I liked the [research coordinator] and was happy to help out."

"People were very kind and understanding."

If you have any questions about being a research participant, about your experience as a research participant, or conducting research please email irb@carilionclinic.org