Blog
Join Pearl IRB in Detroit at AAHRPP
Pearl IRB is proud to share that Clayton Gillespie, MS, CIP, IRB Chair and IRB Coordinator at Pearl IRB, part of Versiti Clinical Trial Services, will be presenting at the 2026 AAHRPP Conference in Detroit. His session, “Engaging the 20%: Strengthening Rural Research...
Imposter Participants: Fake Participants Causing Real Problems
Fraudulent participation in social and behavioral research is becoming more sophisticated and more common. This blog explores how imposter participants threaten data integrity, the ethical challenges of screening methods, and how IRBs can help researchers strike the right balance between rigor and participant protection.
2025 Holiday Schedule
Full board meetings occur Monday and Thursday afternoons at 4:30 PM Eastern. Complete study submissions received by the EOB Monday will be reviewed either the Thursday of the same week or the Monday meeting of the...
OHRP’s Proposed Changes to the Federalwide Assurance Form: An Update
The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) has proposed updates to the Federalwide Assurance (FWA) form as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline regulatory processes for institutions conducting human subjects research. These changes aim to simplify the FWA application, reduce administrative burden, and modernize compliance requirements under the Common Rule.
The Latest Federal Funding Cuts and Their Impact on Ethical Clinical Research Oversight
This article explores the concept of Single IRB (sIRB) and how the SMART IRB platform has streamlined ethical and regulatory reviews for multi-site clinical trials. It highlights the efficiencies gained when institutions rely on a centralized IRB review, as required by NIH and HHS, and examines the recent halt in federal funding for the SMART IRB initiative. Despite the funding pause, the SMART IRB Agreement remains active and accessible — though support resources may soon dwindle. The piece offers timely guidance for research institutions navigating reliance agreements and underscores the urgency of acting while the platform is still operational.