UGA Added to Georgia CTSA IRB Reciprocity Agreement
In 2017, the University of Georgia joined the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) for a statewide focus on advancing clinical and translational science. Last year, representatives of Emory University (Emory), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s), and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia by and on behalf of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), signed an Institutional Data Use Agreement. The agreement now includes Georgia CTSA’s newest partner institution, the University of Georgia (UGA).
Data sharing among researchers and access to electronic medical records in different partner institutions are integral to fostering collaboration and efficiency in translational science. The data shared in the Institutional Data Use Agreement must be used for research purposes only and in the case of “research involving human subjects,” appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must be obtained prior to the start of any study-related activities.
Early in 2019, Emory and UGA signed an IRB reciprocity agreement for Human Subjects Research to continue fostering collaboration and alleviating barriers in research. Emory and UGA have agreed to cooperate with each other with regard to IRB review and oversight of Human Subjects Research taking place at each institution’s respective sites.
Currently, Emory has IRB reciprocity agreements between all Georgia CTSA partners including Children’s. UGA IRB reciprocity agreements are in progress for MSM and Children’s.
The Georgia CTSA is a statewide partnership between Emory, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and UGA and is one of over 60 in a national consortium striving to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium, funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and train the next generation of clinical investigators.