Your look at all things HRPP at Brown University, Brown University Health, and Care New England.
December 11, 2025
Dear Research Community,
As we get ready for the HRPP alignment starting in January, we’re excited to share a few updates. Our phased approach is helping us make steady progress while allowing time to fine-tune things as we go. IRB meeting dates for 2026 are now posted on the Brown HRPP website, Town Halls continue next week, and our monthly Engagement Workgroup meets on the second Thursday of the month for anyone who would like to join.
You can register for the Town Halls or the Engagement Workgroup (“CREW”) on the HRPP website or directly:
Beginning in January 2026, all HRPP operations will come together under Brown University. This means our multiple IRBs will combine under one IRB registration and operate as four monthly panels. The Brown HRPP Toolkit will be available to everyone, and training and support materials are already online.
As part of the phased rollout, the IRB panels will begin in different systems:
Panel 1 will operate in Huron and will initially be limited to Brown University studies.
Panels 2, 3, and 4 will operate in IRBNet and will be limited to CNE and BUH studies.
Non-committee reviews (e.g., expedited and exempt reviews) will continue as usual in whichever system researchers normally use and will not be affected by these temporary limitations.
We will continue using both Huron and IRBNet until all active IRBNet studies can be migrated into Huron. While that work continues, the phased approach allows us to move forward with alignment in manageable steps.
Process Updates
Key Study Personnel Changes
At CNE and BUH, study personnel can now begin working on a study as soon as the modification adding them is submitted. PIs still need to ensure everyone is qualified and up to date on required training. Brown, CNE, and BUH will keep separate CITI accounts, but all three are now synced with Huron IRB, so training completed in any of them will count. This change is effective immediately.
Compensation in Advertisements
BUH recruitment ads may now include the amount of compensation offered. This information can be stated but shouldn’t be highlighted or made more attention-grabbing than the rest of the ad. This change is also effective immediately.
Change Log
To support transparency and help research teams stay informed, we have created a Change Log to track all process updates. This spreadsheet is available at the top of the HRPP Toolkit document library and will be updated and dated as new changes are finalized.
Single IRB
As part of the alignment, the Brown University IRB will become the IRB of record for Brown, CNE, and BUH.
If your study relies on an external IRB (such as Advarra or Mass General), nothing changes.
If your study is currently reviewed by the CNE or BUH IRB, reliance agreements will be updated so the Brown IRB becomes the reviewing IRB going forward.
An informational letter will be sent to affected single-IRB partners in the coming weeks. Study teams do not need to take any action. HRPP will manage the updates.
Brown Winter Break
The office will be closed from Dec. 23 - Jan. 5 for Winter Break. HRPP Leadership will remain on-call for urgent issues.
A survey link for urgent, high-risk items will be posted on the HRPP website and will also be included in all automatic reply notifications, including those sent from irb@brown.edu.
Huron and IRBNet will remain available, but non-urgent submissions will be reviewed after the office reopens on Jan. 5.
With appreciation,
The Brown University Human Research Protection Program
Through the BIRCH initiative, the Brown HRPP will provide unified oversight for human subjects research across Brown University, Care New England, and Brown University Health, with Brown University serving as the IRB of record for all three institutions.
