Research Ethics Board (REB)
The UNBC REB is responsible for ensuring all research or teaching conducted under the auspices of UNBC involving the use of human participants, human tissue, human stem cells or data collected on human participants conforms to the UNBC Policy and Terms of Reference on Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Participants as well as the Tri-Council Policy Statement on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2 (2022)) which guides all human participant research in Canada. Through the ethics application and review process the REB ensures there is a university-wide understanding of, and compliance with, all applicable external and internal requirements. Prior to commencement of research and teaching activities involving the use of human participants, or human biological materials for all minimal risk, above minimal risk, and multi-jurisdictional applications, the REB must review and approve the activities.
2025 REB Above Minimal Risk Application Due Dates and Meeting Dates
More on research and teaching involving human participants
All new single jurisdictional protocols requiring ethics review must be submitted through the ROMEO Research Portal. For existing protocols that were submitted prior to the use of the Romeo Research Portal for ethics review, please note all studies continuing into 2025 are to be active in the ROMEO Research Portal. Please complete a New Application Form in ROMEO, noting the old application number (E#) that has need of renewal.
Minimal risk applications
Applications for research projects that meet the Tri-Council definition of minimal risk will be eligible for delegated review by the REB. Minimal risk applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and will normally be reviewed by two REB Members and the Chair of the REB. Please allow three weeks from the submission deadline for a response from the REB. Note that during the months of July and August we cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time for a response as the minimal risk applications are reviewed upon the availability of REB members.
Above minimal risk applications
Applications above minimal risk must be submitted by the "Application Due Date" referred to in the 2025 REB Meeting Schedule and Application Due Dates. Please allow two weeks from the Meeting Date for a response from the REB. Note that above minimal risk applications will not be reviewed during the months of July or August.
Multi-jurisdictional applications
If your application is multi-jurisdictional, having two or more Research Ethics BC partners (REBC partners), and is to be processed as a harmonized research ethics review for the involved partner institutions, please complete an application through the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP) which entered hard launch on January 1, 2019. All new multi-jurisdictional applications involving REBC partners will only be processed through PREP. Joint research projects involving the Northern Health Authority and UNBC are to be completed through PREP. There are no procedural changes for non-REBC partners involved in a multi-jurisdictional protocol. Non-REBC partner institutions will still require their own institutional ethics application form to be submitted to their REB for investigators under their auspice.
More information and resources on multi-jurisdictional applications can be found online at Research Ethics BC.