We’re a Learning IRB
North Star Review Board was founded in 2021 by experienced IRB professionals who wanted to provide a new model of IRB review. We call that model the Learning IRB because we embrace the tools and philosophy of continuous learning for both operational efficiency and decisional quality. Because science is not static.
We’re a Research Ethics Review Board
As a Research Ethics Review Board (RERB), we are more than just another IRB. While the scope of IRB review is defined by regulation, advances in science and technology raise important issues of trust, rights, and welfare on which regulations are silent. These issues include the implications of research with Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for science and healthcare delivery, the proper use of genetic data, and the obligation to make research opportunities accessible to all. For these and other areas, as an RERB, we acknowledge unanswered ethical questions in ways that promote discussion and give voice to the perspectives of research participants. We want to assure compliance AND build trust in research as a public good.
We Understand Ethical Review
We are dedicated to safeguarding human research participants. We cannot eliminate risk, but we can ensure that the risks individuals are asked to assume are necessary to answer the scientific question and are justified by the potential benefits of the answer. We should not restrict choice, but we should make sure individuals are given information in a form and context that allows them to make voluntary and informed decisions for themselves.
Community
We encourage our researchers to involve community members, when appropriate, in the design and implementation of the research and the dissemination of results.
We’re Nonprofit
We chose to be nonprofit to send a message. Ethical review must represent and protect the perspective of the research participant. Building trust in science and the research enterprise means we do not want to leave room for participants or researchers to question whether our decisions place the interests of investors or institutions over science and the interests of research volunteers.