Tufts University carries out research with human subjects at both the Medford, MA main campus and the Boston, MA biomedical campus. Within the past year, the oversight systems have been expanded to accommodate the increase in research in all areas of the institution. In order to ensure protection for research volunteers, the University created an additional institutional review board (IRB) at the Boston campus. This change also required added support staff to serve what are now three total boards. Because many new people are now involved in the review process, there is a need for immediate and intensive training. The increase in the oversight administrative structure has also brought about changes in internal procedure and policy. These changes have created the need for an extensive revision of the documentation of institutional guidelines. In addition, increases in research taking place under the administration of the Medford campus are overtaxing the support systems currently in place. In order to address the issues raised by expansion of human subjects research at Tufts University and the affiliated hospitals, there are three immediate steps that must be taken. First, the new personnel responsible for ensuring the safety of research will receive intense training. The education effort will allow the review boards to apply a full knowledge of the ethical and safety issues of human subjects research. Second, the manuals that document the policies and procedures will undergo a thorough update. These materials will be accessible and useful for all members of the Tufts research community. Third, the administrative systems in place at the Medford campus will be upgraded to an electronic automated database. Increases in both the efficiency of data storage and privacy of records will result from this upgrade. In sum, these three efforts will meet the acute needs of the recently expanded IRB system at Tufts and lay a solid foundation for future growth.
