Institutional Review Board

What is the Institutional Review Board?

The use of human subjects in Towson University faculty, staff or student research requires approval by the appropriate university review committee, the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is appointed by the Provost, and is comprised of volunteers from TU’s faculty and staff, and at least one member of the community. The IRB is responsible for reviewing research involving human subjects to ensure compliance with all governmental regulations with the use of human subjects. Approval of the IRB must be obtained prior to the involvement of human subjects in research, and for any modifications to the project after IRB approval which would impact the human participants.

Applicable federal regulations are detailed in Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46.

Towson University Institutional Review Board Members

Have questions that may be related to your academic major or discipline? Contact your IRB college representative.

IRB Administration

• Assistant Director for Research Compliance: Jennifer Ippolito, MS, Office of Sponsored Programs and Research
• Chairperson: Elizabeth Katz, Ph.D., Department of Psychology (CLA) (Term Expiration: 2028)
• Vice Chairperson: Bethany Willis, Ph.D., Department of Family Studies and Community Development (CLA) (Term Expiration: 2026)
• Compliance Specialist: Leah Nielsen, MS, Office of Sponsored Programs and Research

Representatives from the College of Liberal Arts

• Maria Fracasso, Ph.D., Department of Psychology (Term Expiration: 2027)

Representatives from the College of Business and Economics

• Melissa Groves, Ph.D., Department of Economics (Term Expiration: 2027)

Representatives from the College of Education

• Scot McNary, Ph.D., Department of Educational Technology and Literacy (Term Expiration: 2026)
• Lijun Jin, Ed.D., Department of Elementary Education (Term Expiration: 2026)

Representatives from the College of Health Professions

• Peter Lisman, Ph.D., Department of Kinesiology (Term Expiration: 2028)
• Laura Sessions, Ph.D., Department of Nursing (Term Expiration: 2028)
• Nirmal Srinivasan, Ph.D., Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (Term Expiration: 2028)

Representatives from the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics

• Pamela Lottero-Perdue, Ph.D., Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences (Term Expiration: 2028)

Representatives from the College of Fine Arts and Communication

• Desiree Rowe, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies (Term Expiration: 2028)

Community Member

• Greg Dildine, Community and Civic Volunteer (Term Expiration: 2026)

Towson University Information

• Federal-Wide Assurance Number — FWA00003648, expires 07/2027
• IORG Number — IORG0002307
• IRB Number — IRB00002844