Office of the Institutional Review Board

Supports the IRBs operated by º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ.

The Office of the Institutional Review Board (OIRB) is an administrative support office for the º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). An IRB is a federally-mandated committee that serves to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects. The IRB reviews all research projects conducted by agents of º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ that involve humans, identifiable data about or biospecimens from living humans prior to the commencement of the research study. The º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ IRBs are accredited by the . 

Services the OIRB provides to researchers include:
  • Assistance with IRB application submissions (including amendments and annual continuing review reports);
  • Guidance regarding FDA regulations and research involving FDA-regulated test articles;
  • Assistance with appropriate reporting of unexpected issues that arise during the execution of human research studies.
Services the IRB Reliance Team provides to researchers include:
  • Adding Relying Sites when using the º£½ÇÂ×ÂÒ IRB as a single IRB for a multicenter study
  • Applications for single IRB review when the UT Health SA IRB is not the IRB for all study sites (External IRB Studies);
  • Assistance with training research personnel;
  • Verifying credentialing;
  • Approving Research Scope of Practice for study team members who do not have a locally recognized medical license;
  • Research participant recruitment assistance via the Find A Study website;
  • Assistance with VA Human Research studies

Office Staff

OIRBIRB Reliance Team
Jeannette M. Watterson, PhD

Jeannette M. Watterson, PhD 
Director, Institutional Review Board 
Watterson@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8205

Brandie Otten

Brandie Otten  
IRB Associate Director 
Otten@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8251

Stephanie C. Reyes, BA, CIP 

Stephanie C. Reyes, BA, CIP 
Institutional Regulatory Reviewer 
ReyesS@uthscsa.edu | (210) 450-8315

Patricia Alexander

Patricia Alexander
Research Compliance Coordinator – Sr 
AlexanderP@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8256

Rebecca Rivera, BS, MS 

Rebecca Rivera, BS, MS 
Research Compliance Coordinator - Sr 
RiveraR4@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8248

Alyssa Hernandez

Alyssa Hernandez 
Research Compliance Coordinator - Sr
HernandezA51@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8254

Cecilia A. Hinojosa 

Cecilia A. Hinojosa 
Research Compliance Coordinator - Sr 
HinojosaCA@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8246

Stephen Blake Luis

Stephen Blake Luis
Research Compliance Specialist
LuisS@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8553

Celia Aviles, BS, MPH, CCRC

Celia Aviles, BS, MPH, CCRC
Research Compliance Coordinator - Sr
Aviles@uthscsa.edu | (210) 562-6827

Bhumi Patel

Bhumi Patel
Research Compliance Specialist
PatelB6@uthscsa.edu | (210) 567-8259

Maria Herrera, MSW

Maria Herrera, MSW
Research Compliance Coordinator
HerreraM13@uthscsa.edu | (210) 450-7314