Beginning Monday, November 1st, the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville Office of Research Affairs will introduce the Unfunded Closed IRB Protocol Tracking System Initiative to our campus. The purpose of this initiative is to identify outcomes associated with IRB protocols that closed within the past 12 months and did not require funding to initiate or complete the study. The goal is to ensure every opportunity is taken for an unfunded study to result in something tangible (i.e. a funded project, publication, conference presentation, etc.).

The Unfunded Closed IRB Protocol Tracking System initiative is designed to operate in multiple stages.

The first stage is to collect feedback on each unfunded study related to the end results and possible next steps. Starting November 1st the Office of Research Affairs will begin emailing specific principal investigators with the request to complete the Unfunded Closed IRB Protocol Tracking System survey.

Principal investigators will be asked questions pertaining to each of their Closed IRB protocols that were identified as not requiring funding to initiate or complete the study. For example, principal investigators will be asked whether each specified study has yet resulted in a conference presentation, a publication, did the study become funded, and the plans and next steps associated with this project.

Please note, not all principal investigators will receive an email request to complete the survey, only those whose IRB active study/studies were identified as not requiring funding to initiate or complete the study.

The second stage involves the Office of Research Affairs working with the principal investigators to assist with those studies identified as needing assistance to transform a previously unfunded study into a tangible outcome.

If you have any questions related to the Unfunded Closed IRB Protocol Tracking System initiative, please contact ora@jax.ufl.edu.