What type of research is considered exempt?
Any study that uses vulnerable populations such as children, cognitively impaired individuals, incarcerated people, or pregnant women is not eligible for exemption. Research on these populations requires expedited review. Some limited types of research are exempt from IRB monitoring; however, federal regulations, funding agencies, and UTC policy prohibit investigators from making this determination on their own. Only the IRB Chair or his/her designee is allowed to make that determination, thus researchers must submit an application to ensure that the research meets the criteria for an exemption. Service projects involving human subjects (including grants and programs that provide services and include an evaluative component that might be determined to be research) are encouraged to contact the IRB Chair and/or submit a proposal to ensure that they are exempt from IRB review. The investigator must receive a letter from the IRB Chair stating that the research is exempt before the propose
