Ramapo College of New Jersey || Provost: Ramapo College Institutional Review Board (IRB): Home

Provost: Ramapo College Institutional Review Board (IRB): Home

Photo: ASB

The Ramapo College of New Jersey Institutional Review Board (IRB) is made up of peer researchers and external members of the larger community and charged with providing an initial and continuing review of research proposals involving human subjects. The IRB assures that the rights of determination, privacy, and confidentiality are maintained through its procedures, and it strives to protect subjects from undue harm by upholding the minimum risk requirement. The IRB will review applications for the use of human subjects and it will evaluate each within the guidelines of the Ramapo College Human Subjects Policy. The committee must review and approve the proposed human research project giving consideration to:

Sensitivity to students’ ability to give informed consent within faculty research while they are enrolled in that faculty member’s course(s).
The degree of risk and whether the benefits outweigh the risks.
Protecting human rights and welfare.
Obtaining voluntary informed consent.
Providing debriefing about protocol and contact information for possible complaints, as appropriate.
Whether researchers are competent and qualified.
The overarching considerations stipulated by the Belmont report and the Common Rule: Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Board Members

Members of the Ramapo College IRB are appointed by the Provost. The chair and co-chair of the committee serve 2 year terms.

Joseph Cataliotti
Chair--Associate Professor of Neuropsychology
Phone: (201) 684-7738
E-mail: jcatalio@ramapo.edu

Rikki Abzug
Co-Chair--Professor of Management
Phone: (201) 684-7392
E-mail: rabzug@ramapo.edu

IRB Committee Members

Christina Chung, Assistant Professor of Marketing, ASB
Elaine Patterson, Associate Professor of Nursing, Nursing Program
Erick Castellanos, Assistant Professor of International Studies, AIS
Jeremy M. Teigen, Assistant Professor of Political Science, AIS
Leah R. Warner, Asst Prof Social Psychology, SSHS
Ruma Sen, Associate Prof/Communication Arts, Contemporary Arts
Scott Frees, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Maya Poran, Associate Prof/Dev Psych., SSHS
Donna Crawley, Professor of Psychology, SSHS
Lysandra Perez Strumolo, Associate Professor of Psychology, SSHS
Gordon Bear, Professor of Social Psychology, SSHS
Jackie Braun, Assistant Prof Exp Psych, SSHS
Kathy Burke, Assistant Dean Nusing/Prof Nursing, Nursing Program
Ron Kase, Associate VP IA & Dir Grants Admin, Institutional Advancement
Marcia Sexton, Tech Svcs/Archives Librarian, Library
Naseem Choudhury, Associate Professor of Psychology, SSHS

Additional Standing Members

Lisa Cassidy, Assoc Prof/Philosophy, AIS
Mike Unger, Asst Prof Political Science, AIS

IRB Review Process

Researchers should read the Ramapo College Human Subjects Policy on the use of Human Subjects in Research.
Does your research involve live humans at Ramapo College or affiliated sites about whom the investigator obtains data? If yes, continue, if no, IRB approval not needed. (“obtaining data” is defined as gaining information through intervention, interaction, or in any way gaining identifiable private information).

Examples of categories of research with human subject that need IRB approval:
- Facultyor staff research projects (including those which are funded).
- Research by an investigator not affiliated with Ramapo College of New Jersey who proposes to involve Ramapo College of New Jersey students, staff, or faculty as subjects in the proposed research project.
- Undergraduate student research within Honors and independent study projects.
- Graduate student research projects.
- Studies expected to result in publication, presentation outside the college, or public dissemination in some other form.
- Research conducted outside the college if it involves: minors (i.e. persons under the age of 18); a targeted population of adults whose ability to freely give informed consent may be compromised (i.e. persons who are socio-economically, educationally, or linguistically disadvantaged, cognitively impaired, elderly, terminally ill, or incarcerated); pregnant women and/or fetuses who may be put at risk of physical harm; a topic of a sensitive or personal nature, the examination or reporting of which may place the research participant at more than minimal risk, or any type of activity that places research participants at more than minimal risk.
- Undergraduate research projects that have a low likelihood of being presented in a forum outside of the College do not need to undergo IRB review unless the risk exceeds minimal risk. However, all human subject research done by undergraduates is the responsibility of the course instructor, who is required to undergo the online training provisions listed in section 6.7 of the Ramapo College IRB Policy. (If the data collected in the context of a course is for classroom use only, the Ramapo IRB suggests the instructor use a "best practices” instructor course research approval form and that the instructor act as the research review chair with responsibility for reviewing the project).
Complete online education/ethics program designed by the University of Montana.
Secure all necessary documents such as approvals for outside sites, and consent form.
Complete and submit the application form to the Chair of the IRB. All applications will be reviewed by a panel as quickly as possible. Every panel will consist of either the IRB chair or co-chair, one non-affiliated community member, and at least three faculty members from the standing committee. Panelists will be selected based on germane subject expertise.
The IRB Chair will contact the applicant when the review has been completed.

If you have specific questions about a particular review or general questions concering research with human subjects at Ramapo College, please contact the IRB chair.