At a previous institution with which I was affiliated -- it had a large
portfolio of research on out-of-treatment substance abusers and sellers
and other research with, shall we say, sensitive populations -- this
issue came up sporadically during IRB reviews.  It was fundamentally
determined by the IRB, with strong agreement from the institution and
the PIs, that the issue of PI or research staff safety was a matter more
properly addressed by the institution and not the IRB.  The IRB
regularly deferred to the institution on matters of staff safety.
Please feel free to contact me at your convenience if you would like
further information.

John

John R. Baumann, Ph.D.
Interim Vice Provost for Research
Director, Office of Research Services
5100 Rockhill Road  (US Postal Service)
5211 Rockhill Road (Courier Service)
Kansas City, MO 64110

816.235.1303 (v)
816.235.6532 (f)

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG] On
Behalf Of Wendy A. Lawrence-Fowler
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2004 9:31 AM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: [RESADM-L] IRB and Institutional Research

Good morning,

We have just had a question come up an our IRB is wrestling with it -
the IRB has a concern for the safety of an investigator during a study -
more so than the subjects.

To provide a little more background, the proposed study consists of
interviews with individuals who transport illegal aliens across the US -
Mexico border. While the initial interviews are with individuals
currently incarcerated, the investigator will be asking for leads to
others still working. The IRB has real concerns about the safety of the
investigator and is not sure how far their responsibility goes in
evaluating a protocol.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?. Any decisions on behalf of
the university - I am also checking with our legal council .....
meanwhile your input would be most appreciated.

Wendy

Wendy A. Lawrence-Fowler, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research
University of Texas-Pan American
Edinburg, TX 78541

e-mail:  xxxxxx@panam.edu
Phone: 956-381-2889    Fax: 956-381-2863

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
======================================================================

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
 via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
======================================================================