Overview

Federal mandate (The Common Rule 45 CFR 46) and longstanding MIT policy requires that the Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects (COUHES) review and approve ALL research involving human subjects that is performed under the auspices of MIT.

Types of research that must be reviewed by COUHES include investigation of new drugs and medical, radiological, engineering, physiological, behavioral, sociological, and nutritional studies. This includes projects involving human tissues, blood, or images, and questionnaires, interviews, and other procedures.

Some categories of research are exempted from review by federal regulation. Regardless of this, ALL projects involving human subjects at MIT must be reviewed and approved by COUHES.

COUHES approval must be obtained BEFORE any human studies are begun. For research involving minimal risk, approval is granted for one year and must be renewed annually. For research involving more than minimal risk, renewal frequency will be determined by the Committee upon approval.

Ethical and legal guidelines for conducting studies involving human subjects are explained in a training course. All personnel who participate in any way in studies involving human subjects must take and pass this course.

Criteria for acceptance of studies, plus other COUHES policies and procedures, definitions, and resources including an investigator quick guide, are provided at other segments of this website. (These may be accessed via hyperlinks or menus.)

COUHES acts as the M.I.T. Privacy Committee and ensures that any research involving identifiable health information conforms to the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

COUHES meets the third Thursday of each month. (Dates may change without notice.) Applications for review by the Committee are due approximately three weeks prior to the meeting.