COVID-19 Update: Resumption of In-Person, On-Campus Research with Human Subjects

On May 27, 2021, Erik Muurisepp, Assistant Vice President of Campus Life, announced that Emerson College would “revise its regulations for those living, learning, and working on campus,” effective June 1. These changes reflect the growing state and local vaccination rates, lowering case numbers, and the most recent guidance from Tufts Medical Center, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidelines allow the return of non-Emersonian visitors to campus, subject to the continuation of certain safety measures. With this change, Emerson is pleased to announce that researchers may resume conducting human subjects studies, on campus, with in-person participants. In order to ensure that sufficient protections are in place for both researchers and subjects, the co-chairs of the Emerson Institutional Review board have approved the following procedures for doing so. These procedures will be in effect until further notice:

1. Submission of the On-Campus Human Subjects Research—COVID Safety Protocols And Attestation form. This form must be completed and submitted to the IRB by the lead researcher, and returned to the researcher with an IRB approval stamp, before an in-person HS study may be conducted. The form outlines both universally mandated safety measures, along with specific protocols based on the nature, duration, and contact frequency of the study.
2. Consistent adherence to the IRB-approved safety measures proposed by the lead researcher.
3. Offering a copy of the signed form to participants as informed consent on the safety measures.
4. Purchasing the necessary sanitization supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed for the studies.
5. Immediately notifying the IRB if any HS participant reports a positive test, of the onset of COVID-like symptoms, within seven (7) days of having participated in the study.

For all studies, participants will need to pre-register in iVisitor, and perform a symptom check one day before the study and the morning of the study. All researchers are still required to perform their own daily symptom checks, and must be tested once per week.

Once your on-campus request has been approved, you can procure sanitization supplies by ordering them through VEOCI. Requests for PPE—including gloves, masks, face shields, and lucite barriers—can be directed to Donna Brescia in Business Services.

This guidance applies to study protocols that have previously been reviewed and approved by the IRB. New protocol applications for in-person studies should also include the On-Campus Human Subjects Research—COVID Safety Protocols and Attestation form with their initial submission until further notice.

If you have any questions, please direct them to human_subjects@emerson.edu.