Institutional Review Board

The Department of Public Health (DPH) maintains an Institutional Review Board which is charged with assuring that the rights of human subjects of research conducted or sponsored by the Department are protected as outlined in federal and state policies and regulations. All research projects that involve human subjects must be submitted to the Board for review and approval prior to their initiation.

Who Should Apply

Approval must be obtained for all research involving human subjects when:

  1. the research is conducted by or sponsored by the Department;
  2. the research requires access to the Department’s subject pool;
  3. the subjects are employees of the Department;
  4. the research requires access to data held by the Department; and
  5. before implementing any amendments to previously approved research protocols.

Approval must be obtained prior to any involvement of the subjects. The approval by the Board is limited to no more than a 12-month period and must be renewed at least annually to continue the involvement of subjects.

Processing Fees

All projects funded from sources external to DPH are subject to a processing fee. The fee is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the review and must be paid before the initial review of the application. The fee schedule is as follows:

Initial Applications

  • $1,500 for expedited or full reviews
  • No Fee for studies meeting the criteria for exemption from IRB review

Amendments

  • $250 for major changes that must be reviewed by the full Board.
  • No Fee for minor changes that can be reviewed using the expedited review procedures

Continuing Reviews

  • $750 for studies with ongoing data collection/contact with human subjects
  • $250 for studies where only data analysis/manuscript preparation is ongoing

The following types of projects are exempt from the processing fees

  1. Projects conducted by faculty, unless the project is funded from sources external to DPH
  2. Projects conducted by undergraduate or graduate students, unless the project is funded from sources external to DPH
  3. Projects where the Principal Investigator is a Georgia state employee, unless the project is funded from sources external to DPH

Checks should be made payable to DPH IRB. Include a short version of the project title and the name of the Principal Investigator on the check. Mail payment to:

Georgia Department of Public Health
Attention: Financial Services - IRB
200 Piedmont Avenue, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Meeting Schedule

DPH IRB meets on the last Friday of each month. Meeting schedule is subject to change without prior notice. Applications must be received by the 1st of the month to be included on the agenda for that month's meeting. 

Contact Information

Brian Kirtland, Ph.D.
IRB Coordinator and Chair
Institutional Review Board
Department of Public Health
200 Piedmont Avenue, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
404-657-1528
​[email protected]
Submissions: [email protected]

Page last updated: 3/28/23