January 2021 celebrates 30 years since the implementation of the Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB). We appreciate your patience with respect to human participant research as we continue to navigate the many implications of COVID-19 on our collective work. Review timelines are currently 2-4 weeks for Non-Recruitment Application forms and 6-8 weeks for Intermediate and Standard Application forms in TRAQ.
The Ethics office is making an update to processing annual renewals and study closures. As of March 8, 2021 annual renewal letters will no longer be generated for GREB and HSREB. Instead this information will be communicated via email only. If you require records for auditing purposes refer to the email communication or in TRAQ select ‘Shared Communications’ and click the ‘preview’ icon. Study teams can also confirm the annual renewal or study status in TRAQ via the ‘Event Info’ in the ‘Note(s)’ box.
Update to In-Person Human Participant Research Process:
- Any previously approved in-person human participant research activity taking place in KFL&A only, and involving participants from KFL&A only, may resume
- In-Person research involving human participants from outside KFL&A continues to be suspended with the following exceptions:
- COVID-19 Research
- Study involves in-person research where the participant is receiving a service that would be delivered/received regardless of the research (e.g., medical treatment)
- Researchers currently in other regions or countries conducting approved in-person research, may continue, as long as they follow all applicable local public health directives and safety measures
- Contact your Associate Dean of Research should you be unclear whether your human participant study can continue
- New requests for in-person human participant research will be reviewed and approved by the central Research Response Team via your Associate Dean of Research. The process to start or resume in-person research can be found on Human Participant Research Guidelines and SOP page of the VPR website. Visit queensu.ca/vpr/covid-19 for the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19.
We have recently updated our Virtual Research Guidelines to include more specific requirements for obtaining consent for Health Canada or FDA regulated research.
Visit the NEW Ethics Communications Bulletin for the most up-to-date information with respect to human participant research ethics.
Sincerely,
Albert Clark, Ph.D., Chair, Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB), Emeritus Professor, School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences (HSREB)