Triaging of collaborative research studies

The IRB Mutual Recognition Agreement applies to collaborative studies between A*STAR, NHG, NTU, NUHS, NUS and SingHealth. Studies are triaged into categories as follows:

• Category A: Medical records review, invasive and/or interventional procedures or vulnerable populations, where research activities are conducted in a clinical setting; will be reviewed by CIRB or DSRB
• Category B: No more than minimal risk, where research activities are not conducted in a clinical setting; can be reviewed by A*STAR IRB, NUS-IRB or NTU-IRB
• Category C: Out of the scope of the agreement e.g., studies involving unidentifiable/ anonymised or de-identified human subject data or HBM.

For collaborative studies involving both NUS and partner investigators, the study may be reviewed by either Party's IRB. The Lead Principal Investigator (Lead PI) should submit the application to their respective institution’s IRB. 

NUS Lead PIs involved in collaborative studies will continue submitting applications via iRIMS-IRB.

For any queries, please contact NUS-IRB. 

Effective from 1 April 2025, NUS Principal Investigators (PIs) who have received approvals from A*STAR-IRB, NHG DSRB, NTU-IRB, or Singhealth CIRB must inform NUS-IRB by submitting their IRB approval letter and protocol details via email (irb@nus.edu.sg).