February 9, 2021

Board Member Attendees:

Eileen Curl, Alan Moore, Clayton Jeffryes, Jeremy Shelton, Shannon Jordan, Jess Liao,

Yu Zhao, Ruthie Robinson, Nandhakumar Randhakumar 

Ex-officio: Jerry Lin, Emily Born 

Not in attendance: Kaye Shelton

I. Call Meeting to order by Dr. Eileen Curl at: 12:33 P.M.

II. Welcome Jeremy Shelton, Psychology Dept.

III. Approval of Minutes: October 13, 2020 (The Nov. 19, 2020 meeting was canceled.)

Motion to approve the October 2020 minutes made by Dr. Curl

Seconded by: All

Motion approved. 

IV. Updates from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration (ORSPA):

a. Jerry Lin - Associate Provost for Research

We want to warmly welcome and thank Dr. Jeremy Shelton for agreeing to serve on the IRB Committee. Please note that all future minutes will be archived and that a Microsoft Teams Group has been created to share files and to promote communication among IRB members. The folder has been shared among all IRB members on Teams.

b. Emily Born, Compliance Officer (IRB Analyst)

Due to Covid, many studies have been modified and or canceled.  IRB expedited/full board review numbers are reduced due to safety concerns.  Dr. Ruthie Robinson, Nursing, is working with her department and students this semester on coming up with alternative assignments for students.  So, nursing will have fewer submissions due to hospital regulations and concerns due to Covid. 

V. List of Approved Expedited Studies

Mrs. Born notifies the committee of the approved Expedited Reviews.  Committee members were encouraged to comment or ask questions regarding these reviews. 

VI. Board Member Positions:

a. Discuss number of board members

Dr. Eileen Curl summarizes the board membership requirements from the past and based on the committee by-laws.  Due to less hands on work the discussion for the reduction in committee size has been discussed.  A smaller board is recommended but there is concern with having all the Colleges represented.  It was noted if specific expertise is necessary, an outside non-member can always be used to gather information. 

Dr. Jerry Lin mentions that the committee needs to take into consideration that Colleges are represented adequately, but also that the needed expertise is available to properly review protocols. 

Dr. Alan Moore comments that it would be better to have more than the federally required five minimum members.  He motions the committee be composed of the following, totaling 8 members including a community member:

1. 2 members from the College of Arts and Sciences
2. 2 members from the College of Education
3. 1 member from each of the remaining Colleges (Business, Engineering, Fine Arts)
4. 1 Community Member

Dr. Jeremy Shelton seconds the motion.

All other members voted yes in favor of the committee membership requirements change.

Motion approved.

1. Decrease the membership as members’ terms expire, or sooner?

Dr. Curl announces that she will be rolling off the committee at the end of the semester as she is retiring.  Dr. Curl was thanked for her outstanding leadership and professional manner while chairing this committee.

1. Nominations and Vote for Vice-Chair of IRB

It was discussed that whoever is nominated to be the current Vice-Chair will take over to be the Chair once Dr. Curl’s term is up. 

Dr. Curl describes time commitment and duties of the IRB chair.

Dr. Allen Moore nominates himself as Vice Chair. 

Dr. Jeremy Shelton puts a motion to close the nominations. 

All committee members vote yes to approve Allen Moore as the Vice-Chair.

Motion approved.  

• Full Board Review of IRB Application

None submitted

• CITI Certification for Board Members

1. Reminder: Board Members need to complete the CITI IRB Members Course to satisfy the requirements for the SBE and BioMed courses.

1. Other Business Items

Dr. Curl makes note the serious affect Covid-19 has had on human subjects research on all areas of campus.  Numbers this year will be reduced due to safety concerns and COVID policies. 

• Meeting Ends at 1:25pm

Next meetings for 2021: April 13, July 13, September 14, November 9 at 12:30 pm

Sept. 2020 – Aug. 2021 Board Members for Lamar University IRB