The UCSF IRB has made a change in the functionality of iRIS, the IRB electronic submission system. Previously, iRIS included a function that allowed researchers to copy a previous study:

Although convenient for researchers in some situations, the Copy functionality led to errors in submissions because information from the original study was not always removed before submitting the new study. This led to a considerable amount of confusion, requiring stipulations from the IRB and leading to delays in approval.

In addition, the Copy functionality allowed researchers to bypass new questions in the IRB application. New questions are frequently added to address changes in regulations and laws, changes in University policy and changes made to better protect the safety and welfare of research participants.

Researchers will still have access to all their studies in iRIS and can use them as a guide when preparing new studies.