The DePaul University IRB has joined
ResearchMatch, a nonprofit program funded by the NIH and hosted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). ResearchMatch helps to connect people interested in research studies with researchers from top medical centers across the U.S. and serves as a subject pool for health-based research studies.
ResearchMatch is a not-for-profit activity and is free for any participating site and their researchers. VUMC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) provides regulatory oversight of ResearchMatch as a whole and relies on each institution to provide local IRB oversight.
Those who join RM as a volunteer freely share their health or medication information with ResearchMatch with no data pulled from a volunteer’s electronic health record. Volunteers are connected with researchers conducting studies that may ‘match’ the volunteer’s interests and background. Once users join RM as a volunteer, they may receive an email message letting them know that a ResearchMatch researcher thinks they may be a possible ‘match’ for their study. The researcher cannot contact volunteers directly until the volunteer chooses to release their contact information.
Researchers on ResearchMatch are able to message a de-identified cohort of potential participants based on their research study’s criteria (e.g., women between the ages of 45 and 80 with heart disease). They are only allowed to contact potential volunteers if their IRB has approved all aspects of the study and given permission to use ResearchMatch as a recruitment tool. DePaul University IRB approval should be sought before attempting to recruit through ResearchMatch.
Contact ORS Research Protections with questions about ResearchMatch: orp@depaul.edu