Protecting Human Participants in Research http://orip.syr.edu/humanresearch.ht ml Office of Research Integrity and Protections (ORIP) What Is the Institutional Review Board and what is it’s role? Composition of the IRB The IRB must be comprised of at least 5 members from relevant academic disciplines and include at least one non-affiliated community member. Role of the IRB The role of the IRB is to protect human subjects participating in research.