Office/Word 2007 Users and Document Corruption

Some people have downloaded the Word (.doc) version of forms from our website only to have them become corrupted after editing and saving the document. We are currently searching for a pattern and resolution as to why this is happening. What we do know is that the corruption issues seem to be occurring most frequently for people using MS Office 2007 products (i.e., Word ‘07). While the 2007 software is backward compatible with Office 2003, there appears to be an issue with the newer version trying to interpret the older version of the document. Until we have a definite solution, we’d recommend that MS Office 2007 users download the RTF (shown by the Apple logo on our website) version of the document(s) and use it for your study submissions. An RTF is a “rich text file” that can be used by both PC and Mac office software packages. Sorry for any inconvenience.

New Metrics Posted

Our metrics page has been updated. Take a look and see the number of submissions we are getting, as well as the various types and how many days you can expect to receive a response from the IRB.

IRB Metrics

New Template Language

We have recently uploaded, to our templates page, language for suicidal ideations. Feel free to take a look and add it to your consent forms if appropriate.

Vanderbilt University PubMed Policy Certification

The NIH Public Access Policy, effective April 7, 2008, mandates that peer reviewed journal articles arising in whole or part from NIH funded research be deposited within 12 months of publication in the freely accessible PubMed Central (PMC) repository. Please see PubMed Central or contact the Eskind Biomedical Library for more information and assistance.

New Process for VICTR CRC Funds Request

The IRB no longer requests submission of the VICTR CRC Supplemental form for review. To request VICTR CRC Resource Services, the Principal Investigator must visit the link below and log in and complete a VICTR Resource Request. For any questions regarding this process, please contact Research Support Services at 322-7343.

https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/starbrite/funding/pilotfeasibility/?pfso

IRB Education Sessions Changing Times

Starting in March 2009, the IRB will be changing the times of our educational sessions. The IRB Essentials hosted in 515 Oxford House will be moved to the second Thursday of each month from 2:00-3:00PM. The larger News You Can Use sessions held in Light Hall will also be held from 2:00-3:00PM. The day of the event will vary based on room availability.

DISCOVR-E Slide show

A new slide show has been added to the DISCOVR-E Library. This slide show focuses on how to retract a submission in the DISCOVR-E system. If you haven’t already done so, please take a few minutes and check out our new step-by-step video tutorials for navigating your way through DISCOVR-E.

DISCOVR-E: Training Videos Now Available

The IRB has recently created step-by-step training videos for DISCOVR-E. We have modules for navigating the system, submitting a new study, responding to a pre-review/CAL, and a number of other topics. Each of the streaming videos can be found in the DISCOVR-E Library. Enjoy and let us know if you have any questions.

New Committee Member

Dr. Kristin Archer Swygert has joined the Health Sciences 3 committee as a reviewer/voting member.  Her speciality is Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and she’s currently an Assistant Professor.

The HIPAA Form

The HIPAA Compliance Form has been retired! The IRB now includes a question on the Key Study Personnel table in DISCOVR-E to ask if each individual will have access to PHI. All other questions on the HIPAA Compliance Form have been incorporated into existing applications.