Our Mission

The vision of the Northwestern University OPRS-IRB is to be an integral component of the Human Subject Protection Program (HSPP) at Northwestern, and for the Northwestern HSPP to be a model program of excellence in ensuring the institution’s fundamental commitment to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects.

The mission of the OPRS-IRB is to ensure that the IRB process is effective at safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research when Northwestern is engaged in that research.  While the protection of research subjects is a shared responsibility, with the institution, investigators, research staff, the IRBs and OPRS all working together toward accomplishing this common goal, OPRS is uniquely responsible for developing and directing the University’s human subject protection program.