Institutional Review Board

Junta de Revisión Institucional

In 9 languages

LanguageTerm
EnglishInstitutional Review Board
Spanish (Español) Junta de Revisión Institucional
Chinese (中文) 机构审查委员会
Korean (한국어) 기관 심사 위원회
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) Hội đồng xét duyệt cơ sở
Filipino (Tagalog) Institutional Review Board
Portuguese (Português) Comitê de ética em pesquisa
Thai (ภาษาไทย) คณะกรรมการพิจารณาจริยธรรมการวิจัย
Japanese (日本語) 施設内審査委員会

What it means

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee required by federal law to review, approve, and monitor research involving human subjects—including clinical trials—to ensure participant safety and ethical standards are upheld. Before a clinical study can enroll patients, the IRB evaluates the study's risk-benefit balance, informed consent procedures, and privacy protections. Participants in any federally regulated or FDA-overseen research have the right to read the IRB approval documentation and to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty or loss of ongoing medical care. Hospitals, universities, and independent organizations operate IRBs; many large studies use a centralized IRB.

How to say it

Sentences a patient might use with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or insurer:

IRB—institutional review board

junta de revisión institucional

research ethics committee

comité de ética de investigación

clinical trial oversight board

junta de supervisión de ensayos clínicos

Where you'll see it

clinical trial informed consent formClinicalTrials.gov study recordresearch participant rights documentFDA investigational drug application

Related terms

Sources

US Glossary Español A–Z US Codes United States

Last reviewed: September 2026