About the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS)

The CPHS functions as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for San Francisco State University. The IRB is charged with reviewing all research involving human subjects to ensure that their rights are protected according to the federal regulations stated in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46 and 21 CFR Parts 50 and 56 (FDA policy).

The Committee at SFSU is composed of individuals from a number of units on campus, along with community members who are not affiliated with the university. Committee members are appointed by the Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs and the Dean of Graduate Studies with the concurrence of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.

The Committee members are divided into two IRBs. Each IRB meets every other Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters. The Committee also meets intermittently during the winter and summer sessions, as needed.

Both IRBS are constituted so that each board has the expertise to review most protocols. Protocols with a biomedical component are referred to IRB#1 which currently includes a physician, a nurse and a physiological psychologist. Protocols with a special education component are referred to IRB#2 which includes a member with special education expertise.

Most of the protocols that the committee reviews fall into the social and behavioral sciences category. Both committees include a number of qualitative researchers, as well as non-scientists and those engaged in quantitative research. Community members are included to provide a non-SFSU perspective on university research. The IRBs cannot meet without at least one non-scientist present.

The IRBs are shuffled regularly to ensure that the proper mix of expertise is maintained according to NIH regulations. The lists below reflect the IRB membership as of October 2009.