Institutional Review Board

Research on Human Subjects

The Driscoll Children’s Hospital (DCH) Institutional Review Board (IRB) was first established in 1993. It oversees all research activities under its jurisdiction. Its purpose is to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants by determining that the selection of participants is equitable, evaluating that the risks are outweighed by the potential benefits of the research and that informed consent(s) are obtained and documented.

Human subjects include patients and their families as well as employees of DCH and DCH-related facilities. Research activities include use of investigational drugs and/or devices, questionnaires, patient related documents, body fluids or tissue, etc., when these materials are used for research purposes.

DCH IRB approves and regulates the conduct of all human research, prospective, retrospective, funded or non-funded, regardless of other IRB approval at DCH and DCH-related facilities.

Who are the DCH IRB Members?

The DCH IRB is a committee of diverse and qualified individuals (scientific and non-scientific) from the local community. DCH affiliated staff, employees and professionals from a diverse variety of fields and disciplines make up the committee. Members of the IRB have particular knowledge and/or experience in the research process.

DCH IRB Schedule

DCH IRB holds monthly meetings. For protocols that require full-board review and approval, turnaround could be affected by the timing of full board meetings. If your protocol has a deadline or specific time constraint, please give yourself and the IRB enough lead time to complete review before your deadline. For specific meeting dates and further meeting updates please contact the IRB office.

Downloads

DCH Conflict of Interest Policy in Research

Contact Information

Driscoll Children's Hospital
Institutional Review Board
3533 S. Alameda Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78411

Phone: (361) 694-4619
Fax: (361) 694-5466

For TTY Deaf Messaging, connect to TTY Interpretation by dialing (800) 735-2989.