The Fenway Institute’s Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) provides governance and oversight for research conducted by The Fenway Institute. It is comprised of:

• Conflict of Interest Oversight: The HRPP elicits and reviews the interests of researchers to ensure objectivity in their work.
• TFI Internal Monitoring: Monitoring involves the regular review of ongoing studies (quality assurance) and support for implementing best practices and training the next generation of LGBTQIA+ health researchers (quality improvement).
• Fenway Community Health Institutional Review Board (FCH IRB): The IRB conducts prospective and ongoing ethical reviews of research involving human participants. It works to ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of research participants. FCH IRB is comprised of diverse community volunteers and Fenway staff who bring their expertise and experience to this responsibility. It actively seeks to be representative of the community Fenway serves.
• Fenway Health Institutional Biosafety Committee (FH IBC): Fenway Health established FH IBC to ensure compliance with the National Institute of Health (NIH) Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (NIH Guidelines). FH IBC is empowered to review all TFI studies that involve working with recombinant DNA, to ensure the safety of participants, staff, the community, and the environment.

If you have any questions about privacy protection or your rights as a research participant, would like to know more about the work of the HRPP, or would like to volunteer with the IRB, please contact Amy Ben-Arieh, Director of Research Compliance, at 617.927.6031.