Frequently Asked Questions and REB Resources

To understand the application process, please visit the application process and meeting dates page for more information. 

To submit your study, please go to the SHORES Login, Instructions and Guidelines page and click the Applicant Login link (https://apply.sinaihealthreb.ca). User guides, guidelines and templates may also be found on this page.

Click the SHORES Applicant Login link: https://apply.sinaihealthreb.ca

For internal users: If you have an @sinaihealth.ca or @lunenfeld.ca email domain, click on "Internal Login" to login using your Sinai Health/LTRI credentials. 

For external users: If you are an external user and have not yet registered for an account, please send a request to the [email protected]. 
 

Delegated reviews can take up to three to four weeks. 

For full board reviews, you will get a response back from the REB approximately one week after the monthly meeting. You must submit the study two weeks prior to the REB meeting.

Contact the REB Office at 416-586-4875 or [email protected].

Some studies may be considered for delegated review. This applies to research which is considered either minimal-risk and non-invasive (e.g. retrospective chart reviews, questionnaires or surveys, non-invasive assessments, use of tissue), or studies involving only current standards of care.

A list of required documents can be found on the application process and meeting dates page.

If the principal investigator is conducting the study at Sinai Health using Sinai Health patients, will use any Sinai resources or their Sinai affiliation on any resulting publication, the proposal must be submitted to the Sinai Health REB. 

If the study involves another teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto, then approval from that other site must also be sought. Contact the REB Office if you are unsure if a submission to the Sinai Health REB is required.

You must still submit an online application to the Sinai Health REB, however, a discussion with the REB Office prior to submission is encouraged because these studies may be considered for delegated review.

Fees for submitting to the Sinai Health REB apply to all Industry-Sponsored and Investigator-Initiated studies funded by Industry. Fees are invoiced upon receipt of the submission to the REB Office.

The following fees are currently in place as of January 1, 2017:

• Initial REB submission/review: $3,500
• Renewals: $500
• Major Amendments: $500
   

The FWA number for Sinai Health is FWA00000911.

If your research involves an external organization or sponsor, an approved research agreement is required. The Office of Technology Transfer & Industrial Liaison reviews these agreements before you start. 

External users: please contact [email protected] for assistance. 

Sinai Health/LTRI users: visit the Agreement Request Portal to make a request for an agreement to be reviewed or drafted, or contact [email protected] if you are new to the process and would like guidance before you start.

The position taken by our REB is that we do not allow researchers to simply contact potential participants with whom they have had no prior, relevant, clinical relationship. The reasons for this are issues of confidentiality and the protection of privacy, and, in some instances, the prevention of potential, unnecessary psychological harm to very vulnerable groups.

In the event that an investigator cannot determine whether an intended investigation constitutes research (for instance, quality assurance/improvement projects do not constitute research), the investigator should approach the Research Ethics Board office for a determination.

For determinations related to quality assurance or quality improvement projects, please complete the Screening Determination Form (PDF) and submit it to [email protected] for review.

For other inquiries, please contact the REB Office at 416-586-4875 or [email protected]. Providing such consultation on ethics matters is part of the responsibility of the Board.
 

For clinical trials or observational studies that are being conducted at a multiple sites, the Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO) Streamlined Research Ethics Review System (SRERS) allows a single, qualified Research Ethics Board (Board of Record) to oversee the review and conduct of studies occurring at multiple sites. Please see Research Involving Multiple Sites for further information.

If you have any other questions about the Research Ethics Board, please email: [email protected].