The Institutional Review Boards Office is responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects in research conducted by faculty, staff, and students affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The HRPP reviews and monitors research involving human subjects at UW-Madison to ensure the ethical and equitable treatment of research participants.
The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Education oversees a range of HRPP administrative and compliance activities including reliance and navigation, post-approval monitoring, and quality assurance oversight.
RELIANT assists researchers with collaborative and multisite research issues and provides support to researchers in navigating institutional requirements.
The Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) provides oversight for all research activities involving human participants at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The HRPP is a collective effort of all who participate in the conduct, review, approval, and facilitation of human participants research at UW–Madison. These groups work closely together to ensure the ethical, safe, and legal conduct of human research.
Read more about the HRPP mission.
The HRPP strives to uphold the highest ethical, safety, quality, and regulatory standards in research involving human participants at UW-Madison and its affiliates. The HRPP is also responsible for ensuring compliance with federal regulations, state laws, and institutional policies.
The HRPP:
- promotes the welfare and rights of human research participants
- facilitates excellence in human research, and
- provides education, timely review, and comprehensive monitoring for human research projects.
To safeguard the rights and welfare of human research subjects, UW-Madison adheres to the principles of The Belmont Report, as described here.
As part of the HRPP, the Institutional Review Boards Office is home to two IRBs on campus. These IRBs review all human subject research protocols in accordance with applicable federal regulations, state laws, and local and university policies.
- The Health Sciences IRB: Reviews research protocols involving medical interventions or procedures where medical expertise is required for evaluation.
- The Minimal Risk Research IRB: Reviews research protocols that present minimal risk to subjects, including medical interventions or procedures requiring medical expertise or knowledge of the health care setting and human participants research occurring within the social and behavioral sciences.
News
PAM note: Ensure Continued Access to Study Documents and Data
May 18, 2026
Graduation and the end of the school year often lead to study staff turnover. Take the time now to ensure data and study documents are not lost during transitions.
Read moreComing Soon: Guidance on Participants with Disabilities – Survey reminder
May 18, 2026
The IRB Office is working on guidance for study teams about including people with disabilities in research. If you have techniques for or experiences including people from these populations as participants in research studies, we’d love to hear from you! If you took the survey last month, please re-take it.
Read moreGuidance: Linking Funding Between ARROW & RAMP
May 18, 2026
Study teams often ask how to link funding between ARROW and RAMP. IRB guidance provides step-by-step instructions for the process.
Read moreSpecial Topics
Reliance & Navigation
The Reliance and Navigation Team (RELIANT) assists researchers with collaborative and multisite research issues and provides support to researchers in navigating institutional requirements.
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Toolkit Manuals
To supplement the Toolkit documents, the Investigator and Reliance Manuals are designed to guide you through policies and procedures related to the conduct of Human Research.
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Information for IRB Members
Resources to support IRB members in their reviews of research protocols.
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IRB Meeting Dates
Meeting dates for the Health Sciences and Minimal Risk Research IRB panels.
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IRB QI/Program Evaluation Self-Certification Tool
This tool is designed to help determine whether the project constitutes research or whether it is quality improvement or program evaluation.
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Interested in Becoming an IRB Member?
We are looking for individuals interested in partnering with UW to protect the rights and welfare of our research participants by serving as an IRB member.
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