ResearchMatch: Clinical and translational research cannot occur without volunteers. Connecting volunteers with researchers is often the most limiting factor for moving research discoveries to the community. UMB has joined ResearchMatch, a network of over 150 institutions across the United States dedicated to advancing discovery and health for communities now and for future generations.
Before getting started, please note that the use of information provided by volunteers is restricted to a specific Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocol and cannot be reused or transferred to other projects, persons, or entities without IRB-approved written consent of the volunteer to do so. In addition, this information cannot be transferred outside of the UMB environment without a data transfer agreement. Information you receive through ResearchMatch requires the same protection required of data collected through research activities. More information can be found on the Research Policies webpage.
In addition, information about volunteers registered in ResearchMatch falls under the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Executive Order 14117, Preventing Access to Americans Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern or Covered Individuals. Read more about Descriptions of Countries of Concern and Covered Individuals.
How to Use ResearchMatch
1st - ResearchMatch Training
- To learn more about ResearchMatch and Training on how to use, visit the Researchers tab on the ResearchMatch webpage. As a ResearchMatch Institution, UMB researchers and research staff have the opportunity to register as researchers in ResearchMatch and conduct feasibility searches of aggregate data. By default, everyone is registered as a researcher. Researchers can also act as a proxy for another researcher's project.
2nd - IRB Approval
Researchers who wish to use ResearchMatch to recruit study participants are required to submit an IRB modification stating the plan to use ResearchMatch as a recruitment strategy BEFORE registering the protocol in ResearchMatch. A contact message sent to potential participants by ResearchMatch will also need IRB approval. The message cannot contain names of study staff or contact info. You will not upload your contact message until you are ready to send to potential volunteers. When ready, copy and paste your IRB-approved contact message into the field provided in ResearchMatch. Please see this ResearchMatch Participant Contact Message Sample.docx.
Submitting IRB Protocol Modification Adding ResearchMatch as a Recruitment Strategy
- In the Modification Information section, item 2, in CICERO, include the following text:
- “ResearchMatch.org will be utilized as a recruitment tool for this protocol. ResearchMatch.org is a national electronic, web-based recruitment tool that was created through the NIH Clinical & Translational Science Awards Consortium in 2009 and is maintained at Vanderbilt University as an IRB-approved data repository. UMB is a participating institution."
- "Below is the participant contact message that will be uploaded for this project in ResearchMatch: [Your contact message…..]”.
- In the Recruitment section, add the following:
- Section 1: “ResearchMatch.org will be utilized as a recruitment tool for this protocol. ResearchMatch.org is a national electronic, web-based recruitment tool that was created through the NIH Clinical & Translational Science Awards Consortium in 2009 and is maintained at Vanderbilt University as an IRB-approved data repository."
- Section 4: Upload your Contact Message in this section
3rd - Register the Protocol
After you receive IRB approval, you may go ahead and register your protocol in ResearchMatch and upload your IRB modification approval letter there. Each researcher assigning themselves as the PI or proxy of a protocol should enter the IRB number in the EXACT SAME FORMAT or the system will register them as different protocols. Use the HP-xxxxxxxx format and DO NOT include modification #s or HCR prefixes. The UMB ResearchMatch Liaison will receive a notification from ResearchMatch and confirm that the protocol is approved to use ResearchMatch and that the contact message is approved prior to releasing the protocol for recruitment.
If you have additional questions, please email them to the ICTR Navigator
