University of Pennsylvania Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) Mission:
- To promote the ethical conduct of research and ensure the protection of human research participants’ rights and welfare
- To facilitate excellence in human research by providing timely and high quality review of human research
- To provide professional guidance and support to the research community
Our Mission
The motto of the University, Leges Sine Moribus Vanae, means “Laws without morals are useless.” It comes from a longer quotation from Horace, “Quid leges sine moribus vanae proficiunt?” the sense of which is “Of what avail are empty laws without (good) morals?”
The Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are federally regulated entities within the Penn HRPP with the mandate to review biomedical and social behavioral research studies that take place within or under the authority of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine. The purpose of review is to determine if the proposed research meets certain established ethical, regulatory, and policy criteria to protect the rights and welfare of the human participants of such research.
IRB Submission System
eIRB Application
As of February 2026 a new electronic research submission system has launched. eIRB has replaced HSERA.
Legacy System
Access to the legacy HSERA system is now VIEW ONLY. You may access your studies to download prior approval letters and study documents. HSERA is projected to remain view only until February 2027. After that time, protocol data will be destroyed OR archived in an archival system depending on closure date.
Frequently Used Services
Forms & Templates
This page is a Penn researcher resource of IRB forms and document templates commonly utilized in IRB submissions.
Education
This page provides information about training required to conduct human research at Penn as well as curated educational sessions offered by the Penn IRB.
IRB Member Toolbox
This page provides guidance and resources for Penn IRB Board members.
Information for Research Participants
The page provides information for research participants, including how to contact the IRB if you have a complaint.
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Upcoming Events
The Latest News from IRB
Sep 4, 2026 @ 10:18 AM
Launch of Penn’s new imaging radiation safety modules and important outage dates for the Novelution platformWe wanted to bring to your attention the launch of Penn’s new Imaging & Radiation Safety modules, which bring the Radiation Research Safety Committee (RRSC), CAMRIS, CT Center, and Nuclear Medicine (NUC Med) review processes into Penn’s eIRB Platform, replacing the current REDCap-based forms. Radiation- and imaging-specific responses within the IRB application will provide researchers with in-line guidance and direct them to the appropriate RRSC, CAMRIS, and/or CT Center application, while NUC Med review will be initiated through the Radiation Safety/RRSC process when applicable. The new modules remain connected to the associated IRB study, carry forward IRB study permissions, and provide reviewers with relevant IRB information, including Informed Consent information, directly within their review. Researchers will be able to view and track associated Imaging & Radiation Safety records and respond to committee feedback from their eIRB Platform Dashboard, while Penn’s existing IRB ancillary review and committee sign-off process will continue alongside these new committee-specific workflows.
The Imaging & Radiation Safety modules will go live later this month, resulting in temporary outages on the Novelution platform. The Penn Production environment will be down during non-standard update hours on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Configurations will follow starting Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 11:00 pm through Monday, September 21, at 5:00 am. Normal operations will resume at 5:00 am ET.
Jul 29, 2026 @ 4:44 PM
Resolved eIRB IssuesJul 27, 2026 @ 4:47 PM
Summer 2026 Education SeriesNeed Assistance?
If you have questions and want to speak with someone directly, there are a few ways to contact us