UBC Children's & Women's Research Ethics Board

The University of British Columbia / Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia Research Ethics Board (UBC C&W REB) is a UBC-affiliated Research Ethics Board (REB) for the Oak Street campus.

The UBC C&W REB is responsible for the ethical review of the following:

Clinical and behavioural research projects conducted at:

BC Children's Hospital*
BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services*
BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre*
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute
BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services Research Institute
Women's Health Research Institute

Studies for which the principal investigator holds appointments with the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia, which directly involve patients, records or resources of the Oak Street campus. This also includes research projects which involve the use of human remains, cadavers, tissue, biological fluids, embryos and/or fetuses.

*Programs of the Provincial Health Services Authority

Site-Specific Requirements

Your research may have privacy implications - if you have questions about privacy considerations for your research study please visit the Research Privacy web pages before submitting to the REB.
Researchers must obtain institutional approval from C&W prior to commencing any human subject research studies taking place at C&W which use patient or other client populations, access medical or other records, or impact C&W clinical or other service resources in any way. See our Institutional Approvals page for more details.
Researchers who do not hold a Children's & Women's appointment must appoint an individual who holds a Children's & Women's appointment as site lead or co-investigator for the research.

COVID-19 Information and Guidance

News & announcements

‎Check back regularly for REB news and updates.

Heath Canada Notice - reducing retention period for records (Feb 2022)
New edition of the TCPS2 CORE Tutorial (March 2022)
2021 Edition of International Compilation of Human Research Standards (November 2021)
Notice of increased REB review fees (PDF) (June 2018)
Qualtrics selected as the new UBC survey tool (Dec 2017)
BC Ethics Harmonization Update and Survey (PDF) (Dec 2017)
UBC Notice - adding students and funding (PDF) (Oct 2017)
REB budget review for industry sponsored trials (PDF) (Oct 2017)

Membership & terms of reference

The UBC C&W REB was established in 2009. The terms of reference and a complete list of past and present members are available below.

Terms of Reference (PDF)

Membership (PDF documents)

Federal-wide assurance

To enable researchers to secure funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the UBC C&W REB and the Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia have obtained OHRP Federal-wide Assurance (FWA) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) Assurance.

Assurance: Federal-wide Assurance (FWA)

Number: FWA00020398
Expiry date: May 6, 2027

Number: IRB00006995
Expiry date: April 1, 2027

Every institution engaged in human subjects research supported or conducted by the US DHHS is required, under the DHHS human subjects protection regulations (45 CFR 46.103), to have an assurance of compliance approved by the US Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).

See also the C&W assurance of compliance.

OHRP has launched a webpage with information on the revised Common Rule’s clinical trial informed consent form posting requirement (45 CFR 46.116(h)). Please send questions or comments about the revised posting requirement to OHRP@hhs.gov.

Meetings & deadlines

The UBC C&W REB meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month, with the exception of the December meeting, which will take place on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

The deadlines for full board review are listed below. Please note that there is no deadline for Minimal Risk studies.

Submissions must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the due date. Researchers are required to have their completed ethics application - including departmental approval - submitted to the UBC C&W REB prior to the submission deadline. Any submissions received after this time will be reviewed at the following month's meeting.

It is the Principal Investigator's responsibility to ensure that their department head has been notified of the application and ensure that departmental approval has been received prior to the deadline for submission. Departmental approval occurs electronically following Principal Investigator sign off on the application.

2024 Deadlines 2025 Meetings

November 27 December 11

2025 Deadlines	2025 Meetings
January 6	January 22
February 5	February 26
March 5	April 2
April 9	April 23
May 7	May 28
June 4	June 25
July 2	July 23
August 6	August 27
September 3	September 24
October 1	October 22
November 5	November 26
November 27	December 10

Fees

A fee for ethical review only applies only to research studies sponsored by industry (i.e., pharmaceutical, biological or medical device company) or any other for profit organization.

An initial application fee of $3,500 CAD* per application covers the cost of the submission and initial review of the application. In addition, an annual renewal fee of $750 CAD* will be levied (at the time of the annual renewal) to cover the cost of the annual renewal and other on-going oversight, including amendments and unanticipated events. The Principal Investigator must ensure the sponsor is aware of these fees.

The UBC C&W REB Office will issue an invoice once your research project has been submitted on RISe. The Certificate of Approval will not be released until the review fee has been received. If you have outstanding fees, no new REB reviews will be undertaken until your account is brought into good standing.

If your study requires a Clinical Trial Agreement or Contract, a fully executed copy of the Clinical Trial Agreement or Contract must be on file with UBC’s University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO). They will notify the REB when the agreement has been executed and ethical approval can then be released.

For a current statement of your fee account or other specific queries relating to REB fee payment, please contact:

Manisha Sangha

Administrative Coordinator, UBC C&W Research Ethics Board

Email | 604-875-3103

*Note that these fee amounts apply to all new applications submitted after April 1, 2019. All privately sponsored studies submitted prior to April 1st, 2019 will continue to be charged the current ethical review fees of $3,000 for initial approval and $500.00 for annual renewals.

Mechanism for Submitting the Fee

Internal transfer from a C&W or PHSA account

Please return a copy of the invoice with the C&W or PHSA cost centre information as indicated and signatures from the appropriate authorizing signatory to the REB office.

Cheque

Payable to: Provincial Health Services Authority
Amount:$3,000.00 CAD (for initial review) or $500.00 CAD (for annual renewal)
Reference:REB number (HXX-XXXXX), UBC C&W Research Ethics Board, Attention: Manisha Sangha
Mail to: Room A2-141A, 950 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada

Attach a copy of the invoice and include the REB number (HXX-XXXXX) as a reference.

Contact Us!

‎

L-R: Farin Meralli, Jennie Prasad, Manisha Sangha & Talysa Dhahan

Please note that the REB staff are currently on-site one day per week and are otherwise working remotely. Please email us and we will be happy to set up a time for a phone call or meeting.

Jennie Prasad, Director

Jennie oversees the functioning of the REB staff and Board, monitors ethical review process standards, and advises on compliance with ethics policies.

Email Jennie