October 3, 2002

Dear Colleagues,

As of November 1, 2002 we are instituting the following change in the triage of new applications to our institutional review boards (IRB):

JHM IRBs, not WIRB, will review newly submitted federally-funded single-center applications that have a high likelihood of funding. These include applications such as NIH RO-1, NIH PO-1, K-awards and GCRC projects. Federally funded also includes AHRQ, FDA, DOD, etc. Remember, the NIH "just in time" policy requires IRB review only when the application is about to be funded, not as part of the NIH grant submission process.

JHM IRBs will also review, as before:

• New investigator-initiated, unfunded applications.
• New applications that are being submitted to foundations or disease-specific societies (e.g., March of Dimes, American Heart Association).
• All gene therapy protocols.

WIRB will continue to review:

• New commercially-funded applications.
• New multicenter federally-funded applications, with a high likelihood of funding. GCRC protocols will also be reviewed by WIRB.

Remember that these policies relate only to new applications. Continuing renewals will be done by the same IRB that did the initial review, either WIRB or JHM IRB. Please contact the JHM IRB office if you have questions about this change in policy.

Thanks for your help and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH