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April 2025: Please read and share AEREO’s joint statements with PRIM&R, AAHRPP, and CARE-Q on how recent changes at HHS risk slowing research and making participants less safe.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP):                                                          A Critical Partner for Public Safety and Trustworthy Research                                                                                                                                                                                  Preserving Research Ethics Oversight Amid Decimation of the Research Enterprise

Do IRBs “work”? What does that mean – and how would we know?

Launched in May 2018, AEREO is a consortium of leaders in human subjects research oversight, research ethics, and empirical methods. We have come together to advance the shared mission of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and Human Research Protection Programs (HRPPs). Consortium members work collaboratively to advance an empirical research agenda to support evidence-based approaches to research ethics review, oversight, and policy.

What have we learned so far?

In March 2023, we had the opportunity to share our findings and future plans with the Secretary's Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections (SACHRP) in response to the GAO report on IRB effectiveness. Watch the video below (starting at the 25:21 mark) and take a look at this June 2023 JAMA Viewpoint, in which we lay out AEREO's vision for responding to the call to meaningfully evaluate IRB effectiveness.

You can also learn more by reviewing AEREO's current recommendations and publication list.