Independent Community Member — Institutional Review Board
Organization: Society of Asian Urologists and Networked-specialists in the Americas (S.A.U.N.A.)
Position Type: Independent, part-time advisory appointment
Location: Remote
Compensation: Annual honorarium, meeting fees, and approved expense reimbursement
Position Summary
S.A.U.N.A. is establishing an internal Institutional Review Board to review health-services research and retrospective healthcare-data studies. We are seeking an independent community member to provide an external perspective and help protect the rights, privacy, and welfare of research participants.
The selected individual must have no current employment, governance, consulting, financial, or immediate-family relationship with S.A.U.N.A. This role is intended to support the independence and integrity of the IRB’s review process.
This position does not involve access to identifiable CMS beneficiary data, direct participation in the underlying research, or any financial interest in research outcomes.
Responsibilities
- Review research protocols, privacy safeguards, and supporting materials.
- Participate in periodic virtual IRB meetings.
- Evaluate research from the perspective of patients, research participants, and the broader community.
- Help assess whether proposed studies appropriately protect privacy, confidentiality, rights, and welfare.
- Complete required human-subject protection and IRB-member training.
- Disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest.
- Recuse from reviews when a conflict exists.
- Exercise independent judgment without influence from S.A.U.N.A. leadership, investigators, sponsors, or other interested parties.
- Maintain the confidentiality of IRB discussions and research materials.
- Support the IRB’s compliance with applicable federal research and privacy requirements.
Preferred Qualifications
Prior experience in one or more of the following areas is preferred:
- Institutional Review Board service
- Human-subject research protections
- Healthcare ethics or bioethics
- Patient or caregiver advocacy
- Research compliance
- HIPAA or healthcare privacy
- Public health
- Healthcare law
- Medicine, nursing, pharmacy, or allied health
- Social work
- Community service or nonprofit leadership
Retired healthcare professionals, former IRB members, patient advocates, ethicists, educators, attorneys, clergy members, and community leaders are encouraged to apply.
Independence Requirements
Applicants must not:
- Be employed by S.A.U.N.A.
- Serve as a S.A.U.N.A. officer, director, advisory-board member, consultant, or contractor.
- Have a financial interest in S.A.U.N.A. or its research activities.
- Participate in the CMS research project being reviewed.
- Have an immediate family member with an employment, governance, consulting, or financial relationship with S.A.U.N.A.
- Expect equity, royalties, revenue sharing, sponsorship rights, research ownership, or compensation tied to approval decisions.
Applicants will be required to complete an independence and conflict-of-interest disclosure.
Compensation
Compensation will be structured to preserve the member’s independence and will not depend on whether any study is approved.
The compensation structure may include:
- A fixed annual honorarium for availability, training, and service.
- A fixed fee for each IRB meeting attended.
- Reimbursement of reasonable, pre-approved expenses.
The appointment will not include:
- Compensation contingent on study approval
- Equity or ownership interests
- Royalties
- Sponsorship rights
- Research revenue sharing
- Financial participation in study outcomes
The appointment agreement will state that compensation does not create employment, research participation, governance rights, control rights, or a financial interest in S.A.U.N.A.’s research.
Time Commitment
The expected commitment will include:
- Initial orientation and required training
- Preparation before scheduled IRB meetings
- Participation in periodic virtual meetings
- Occasional review of amendments, continuing-review materials, or compliance matters
Meeting frequency will depend on the number and complexity of studies under review.
Application Requirements
Applicants should submit:
- A résumé or brief professional biography
- A short statement describing relevant experience and interest in serving
- Confirmation that they have no current employment, governance, consulting, financial, or immediate-family relationship with S.A.U.N.A.
- Disclosure of any relationship with the proposed investigators or research activities
About S.A.U.N.A.
S.A.U.N.A. is a nonprofit professional organization focused on advancing urologic education, research, innovation, collaboration, and improved access to care. Its research program is intended to generate evidence that supports better clinical decision-making, health equity, quality improvement, and responsible healthcare innovation.
S.A.U.N.A. is committed to maintaining an independent, rigorous, and ethically credible Institutional Review Board process.
Pay: $1,000.00 - $50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: Remote
