Mercy Research Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Mercy Institutional Review Board

The Mercy Institutional Review Board (MIRB ) is designated by the organization to review and monitor research to ensure the protections of rights, privacy and welfare of all human participants who are the subjects of research at any Mercy facility.

The Mercy IRB has the authority to review, approve, require modifications, or disapprove research submitted by investigators. The Mercy IRB may also cede oversight of certain research studies to commercial, external IRBs
when the external IRB meets federal regulations for the conduct of research and IRB review and the parties have entered into a written agreement setting forth the specific responsibilities of each party.

The Mercy IRB operates in accordance with FDA and HHS regulations for the protection of human subjects in research. In addition to complying with federal regulations, all research at Mercy must comply with Mercy’s
mission and values and the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic Health Care.

Our primary goal is to facilitate the IRB review process, provide support to investigators to assure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, institutional policies, and procedures which aim to protect human subjects, all while providing timely, customer friendly service to the research community.

Protecting Research Participants

It's the role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects participating in research. As part of the human subjects research oversight process, the IRB will receive and respond to research participant concerns or complaints.

If you are a research participant (past or current), or you are considering enrolling in a research study (potential participant) and have a research concern or complaint, you may file a report and the IRB will investigate. All complaints will be held in the strictest confidence unless instructed otherwise. We will do everything to review and respond to your complaint in a timely manner.

MIRB Chair

Lisa Low, MD, MPH is a family practitioner who has been with Mercy since 1999. Dr. Low currently serves as the Medical Director of Community Health for Mercy Northwest Arkansas. She was a founding board member of the ministry-wide Mercy IRB in 2017 and was appointed Vice Chair in 2019. She assumed the role of Chair in June 2020.

IRB Information

Mercy IRB
Contact Us

We want to hear from you. Please call us at 417-520-4647 or email us.