Human Stem Cell Research Oversight (hSCRO)

Human Stem Cell Research Oversight (hSCRO) review/approval is required for ALL embryonic stem cell research and certain types of non-embryonic stem cell research, and is in addition to other required University of Pittsburgh research approvals, such as through Animal Research Protection, Institutional Review Board, or Institutional Biosafety.

hSCRO review ensures compliance with all federal and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania regulations governing the conduct of human embryonic stem cell research.

As there may be potential ethical concern with any pluripotent stem cell research, the hSCRO Committee's purview includes oversight of both embryonic and certain types of non-embryonic stem cell research.

The hSCRO Committee reviews research in accordance with:

Types of Non-embryonic Stem Cell Research Reviewed by hSCRO

  • A clinical trial (human research participants) where the administration of fetal or embryonic stem cells is considered to be experimental and not standard of care.
  • Transplantation of any type of human stem cell into an animal
  • Transplantation of cells that originated from human iPS cells or cells/cell lines that were derived from human embryonic cells (ES)

Why Does hSCRO Review Non-embryonic Stem Cell Research?

As there may be potential ethical concerns with any pluripotent stem cells research, the hSCRO Committee's purview includes oversight of both embryonic and certain types of non-embryonic stem cell research. The Committee's specialized expertise and knowledge of the broad scope of human stem cell research being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh allows the hSCRO Committee to serve as a valuable resource.

How do I submit an application for review? How are hSCRO applications reviewed?

The investigator must complete the required human stem cell training on CITI, and then create a Safety Submission (the application) using the online review system MyIBC. Users should choose the "Stem Cell Research Oversight" application.

Current MyIBC users that have access to the IBC modules within the Safety system, will only have access to the Stem Cell Research Oversight if they have completed the required training for Stem Cell use.  See the required human stem cell training on CITI

There are two levels of hSCRO review: Administrative Review by the hSCRO Chair (Registration) and hSCRO Committee Review. The type of review required depends upon the nature of the research described in the application.

Researchers may contact the IBC Division Staff for assistance at IBC_Support@pitt.edu 

Page updated: 29 February 2024; Updated broken link