Research institutions and individuals conducting studies involving human subjects, take heart!

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a new online portal to provide information on human research protections. The site, Humansubjects.nih.gov, is a comprehensive resource that addresses the full spectrum of research involving human subjects. The site provides information from both the principal investigator and institutional standpoint. For example, it details processes that investigators should be aware of before submitting an application, after submitting the application and after receiving an award. Institutional officials also are informed of their responsibilities.

The site also includes information for peer reviewers, including details on the peer review evaluation process and a peer review evaluation sheet. It further includes human subjects information for specific NIH award types, such as fellowships, training grants, foreign awards and research and development contracts.

For those new to research involving human resources, the site also includes a links to a human subjects questionnaire, an overview description of what human subjects research is, an overview of the exemptions that NIH uses and links to other related NIH regulations, policies and guidance. Of special interest, the site includes a link to a course on protecting human research participants that is intended for use by individuals involved in the design and/or conduct of NIH-funded human subjects research.

If you are looking to obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality for additional protection of identifiable data from the individuals participating in your research, you can find it through this portal. Individuals and institutions involved in human subjects research can truly benefit from the wealth of information that can be found on this site.

Take a look at Humansubjects.nih.gov, and let us know what you think about the site and any changes you would suggest.