The Huron IRB system will go live on March 10, replacing Buck-IRB. An email will be sent that day with a link to the system as well as instructions for getting started.
The transition from Buck-IRB to the Huron IRB system will provide greater functionality, fewer redundancies and enhanced regulatory compliance. The Huron system will allow the IRB process to be consolidated into one system, from protocol development and submission to IRB review and approval.
While the submission system is changing, the process, involving a SmartForm and protocol templates, will remain largely the same. In Buck-IRB, the lengthy SmartForm included questions designed to capture the criteria for IRB approval, which was duplicative to the corresponding protocol. In Huron, new protocol templates have been developed to capture this information, resulting in a much shorter SmartForm.
Getting Ready for Huron
- A brief training is available in BuckeyeLearn providing an overview of the Huron IRB system for principal investigators (PI) and study staff. The training is indexed to allow navigation directly to any topic of interest. This training will be updated throughout the transition period with new content added as appropriate.
- For those that would like to get started on preparing studies for review once the Huron IRB system is live on March 10, the new protocol templates can be requested by emailing IRBInfo@osu.edu.
Migration Schedule
Due to the size and complexity of Ohio State’s portfolio of more than 7000 active studies, there are several key dates to note as the transition is made from Buck-IRB to Huron. Exempt and legacy studies (those approved before Buck-IRB) will not be migrated.
- March 3: Buck-IRB will go offline at 8 a.m. until late on March 4.
- March 10: Huron IRB is live for all new study submissions and for studies approved in Buck-IRB with no pending amendments or continuing review submissions. Studies migrated to the Huron system will become read-only in Buck-IRB.
- March 21: All studies approved in Buck-IRB between March 4 and March 20 will be migrated to Huron and Buck-IRB will not be accessible until March 23. Any pending new study, amendment, or continuing review submission (e.g., incomplete, modifications required, deferred) in Buck-IRB will not be migrated and will need to be resubmitted in the Huron system.
- March 23: The Huron IRB system is live, and Buck-IRB becomes read-only for all studies.
Resources for Huron
All resources needed to navigate the IRB process at Ohio State will be found in the Huron system, including a Human Research Protection Program (HRRP) toolkit. This is a collection of resources developed by Huron policy experts and refined to meet Ohio State standards. Found under the Library tab, types of documents include:
- Standard Operating Procedures that replace the HRRP policies previously used to guide the IRB process These can be used as a reference for study teams, researchers and reviewers, and can easily found by title in the library.
- Templates (including those for biomedical/cancer, social and behavioral sciences, exempt research and secondary research) are used by the researcher as a starting point for drafting new protocols and other compliance documents. These accompany the SmartForm when submitting a study.
- The Investigator Manual (under the General tab) contains Ohio State-specific information related to the conduct of human subjects research.
- Checklists are used by the reviewer to document regulatory decisions that need to be documented.
- Worksheets are tools for the reviewer, staff and researchers and provide guidance for research-related procedures that do not need to be documented.
Additional educational materials will be found in the Help Center within Huron, and researchers can contact IRBInfo@osu.edu for help. Researchers can also schedule office hours with IRB staff to help navigate the IRB process.