About CPHS

The Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects(CPHS) is the name of the Institutional Review Board for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - UTHealth.  [contact CPHS Office]  

Individuals serving on IRB Committees are volunteers of varying interests, disciplines, and expertise from the UTHealth and Houston community.  IRBs are charged with the review of proposed research with regard to determining whether adequate measures are in place to protect autonomy, safety, privacy and well-being of participants.

Brief history of IRBs  |  Mission of UTHealth-CPHS   |  Federal Wide Assurance

CPHS Review Process

UTHealth CPHS has four IRB Review Panels.  Applications for CPHS approval are reviewed by expedited review procedure or at a full board meeting.

IRB # 1 – 1^st  Friday of each month

IRB # 2 – 3^nd  Friday of each month  

IRB # 3 – 2^nd Friday of each month (designated panel for CER studies) 

IRB # 4 – 4^th Friday of each month

(Due to the holidays, IRB Panels 2 and 4 have joint meetings in November and December).

There is no deadline for submission. Complete applications are assigned to the first available agenda. Applications that are eligible for review by the expedited procedure are assigned to designated reviewers as they are received.  

Applications for CPHS approval must be submitted through iRIS, the electronic IRB System.  Training to use iRIS is available several times per year.  Log in to iRIS using your UTHealth LDAP user ID and password.  For collaborators who do not have a UTHealth LDAP account, a guest account can be created. For help with your IRB submission, call the help line at 713-500-7960.  You may also find iRIS HINTS & TIPS helpful.

Please make sure that you have also completed all applicable mandatory training before you actually hit the submit button in iRIS.

CPHS HELPLINE   713-500-7943
iRIS HELPLINE    713-500-7960
UTHealth’s Compliance Hotline (1-888-472-9868)

IRB OFFICE HOURS Thursdays from 1 to 4pm, via the Teams Room at this link

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