IRB and SRC Review for Student Research: What Changed for ISEF 2027
IRB and SRC review for student research decides whether a science fair project can compete, and it happens before a single data point is collected. Society for Science has published its final rule modifications for the 2026-27 season, and several updates apply directly to the projects that rely on committee review most: studies with human participants, biological materials, and hazardous chemicals. [1]
If you are preparing for a regional fair this year, or doing research in psychology, the life sciences, or any area involving people, animals, or tissue, these changes shape how you plan the first few months of your project.
Short answer: An Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews research involving human participants. A Scientific Review Committee (SRC) reviews projects involving animals, biological agents, tissue, and hazardous materials, and checks every project for rule compliance. For ISEF 2027, the biggest updates cover parental permission for online surveys, a new student support disclosure form, stricter lab conditions for blood and certain chemicals, and clear limits on AI use.
What IRB and SRC review mean for student research
An IRB is an ethics committee. Its job is to protect the people who take part in a study. Under the ISEF International Rules, a school or fair IRB has at least three members: an educator who is not the student's Adult Sponsor, a school administrator, and a medical or mental health professional. The committee looks at the physical and psychological risks of a project and decides whether it is appropriate for student research. [2]
An SRC is a broader review committee. It gives prior approval to projects involving vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological agents, and human or animal tissue, and it reviews every project for compliance before competition. Projects approved by an IRB still receive a final SRC sign-off.
Both committees work from the same principle, and it is the one students most need to remember: approval comes before experimentation. For human participant studies, IRB approval is required before any interaction with participants, and that includes recruitment. [2] Collecting data early, even a handful of survey responses, can disqualify a project.
Where the rules generally apply
A project usually needs IRB review if it involves people in any way, including:
Surveys and questionnaires, even an anonymous online form sent to classmates
Interviews and focus groups
Testing an app, device, or invention on other people
Behavioral observations where the researcher interacts with participants or changes their environment
Physical activity or performance measurements
A student who tests a device or app on themselves also counts as a human participant, so self-testing needs approval too.
A project usually needs prior SRC review if it involves:
Vertebrate animals
Microorganisms, recombinant DNA, or fresh human or animal tissue
Hazardous chemicals, lasers, radiation, or high-voltage equipment
In practice, review comes up most often in behavioral and social sciences, biomedical and health sciences, microbiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry, materials science, and animal sciences. Any of the 22 ISEF categories can require review if the design involves people or physical hazards.
Projects built on publicly available, fully de-identified datasets (such as those published by NIH, NASA, or the CDC), computational modeling, software, or mathematics usually fall outside IRB and SRC prior review. Students should still document where their data comes from.
What's new for ISEF 2027
The 2026-27 rule modifications touch nearly every part of the review process. [1] Here are the changes most likely to affect student researchers.
Online surveys and minors. Surveys must now be attached to the consent form, and parents must give written permission before a minor can access an online survey. Researchers must also safeguard participants' IP addresses along with the data they provide.
Sharing results with participants. Students may not share study data with participants or give them advice, diagnostic, or medical information unless a medical professional is directly involved.
New Form 2A for every project. A new Student Support Disclosure form is required for all projects. It documents the help a student received. The Qualified Scientist form (2B) and Regulated Research Institution form (2C) also add questions about the role and length of that support.
AI use. Students may use AI as a resource if they cite it, but generative AI may not be used to write research plans, abstracts, posters, or citations.
Research plans. Research plans now list seven required components: rationale, research question or hypothesis, materials, procedures, risk assessment, data analysis, and bibliography.
Biological materials. The ban on prion research now also covers related proteins such as amyloid-beta, tau, and alpha-synuclein, along with plasmids that encode them. Students may not collect samples during harmful algal blooms; qualified personnel collect them, and testing happens in a BSL-2 lab. Human blood (other than the student's own) and wild animal blood now require BSL-2 conditions under a qualified scientist.
Hazardous chemicals. Chemicals classified as carcinogenic, teratogenic, or harmful to reproduction must be used in a regulated research institution or a restricted-access fume hood outside the regular classroom.
Research window. Projects entered at ISEF 2027 may include no more than 12 continuous months of research, beginning no earlier than January 2026. [3]
Who these changes might affect
Psychology and behavioral science students. Survey-based projects are the most common type of human participant research at science fairs. With written parental permission now required before a minor opens an online survey, students surveying classmates need extra lead time to collect those permissions before any link goes out.
Health and biomedical students. Projects that measure something about participants, such as sleep, heart rate, or stress, need a plan for what happens to the results. Students cannot return individual results or offer health advice without a medical professional involved.
Life science and chemistry students. Projects involving blood, prion-like proteins, algal samples, or certain chemicals now need access to a BSL-2 lab or a regulated research institution. For many students, that means partnering with a university lab or reframing the project.
Every ISEF applicant. Form 2A, the AI rules, and the seven-part research plan apply to all projects, including those that need no IRB or SRC review.
Timing matters for all of these groups. With complete, accurate paperwork, IRB and SRC reviews often take two to four weeks, and missing signatures or revisions add more. Students who need review should aim to have their forms finished by mid-to-late October and confirm exact deadlines with their regional fair. If a school does not have its own IRB, students can usually submit directly to their regional fair's IRB when registration opens.
For students whose ideas need lab access they cannot get, a computational approach keeps the science ambitious. Molecular docking, structural simulations, predictive toxicity modeling, and analysis of public datasets let a student work on drug discovery, genetics, or behavior without collecting new samples or survey data.
How the Scholar Launch Science Fair program can help
The Scholar Launch Science Fair Elite Research Program is built around the ISEF research window. Students work with a mentor across four phases: project scoping and compliance setup, execution and data collection, analysis and writing, and presentation and judging preparation.
Compliance is part of the first phase, not an afterthought. Mentors help students determine early whether a project needs IRB or SRC review, prepare a research plan that meets the new seven-part standard, and assemble the forms and consent materials their fair requires. When a project idea calls for lab access or participant data that is hard to secure, mentors help students reshape it into a computational project that stays rigorous and competition-ready.
Ready to start?
Planning a science fair project for this season? The earlier you start, the more time you have for review. Learn more about the Science Fair Elite Research Program or apply now to get started.
Frequently asked questions
Does an anonymous online survey need IRB approval?
Yes. Any survey of people counts as human participant research, even when responses are anonymous. For ISEF 2027, minors also need written parental permission before they can open the survey.
What if my school does not have an IRB?
Most regional fairs run their own IRB, and students can submit their research plan, forms, and survey materials directly to it when registration opens. A principal can also form a three-member committee that meets the ISEF membership requirements.
Can I use a public dataset instead of collecting my own data?
Yes. Analyzing publicly available, fully de-identified data usually does not require IRB approval, as long as you document the source. Originality comes from your research question and your analysis.
How long does IRB or SRC approval take?
Often two to four weeks with complete paperwork, and longer if the committee requests revisions. Build that time into your plan and check your regional fair's deadlines early.
References
[1] Society for Science. (2026). Final changes for 2026-2027. https://sspcdn.blob.core.windows.net/files/Documents/SEP/ISEF/2027/Rules/FINAL-Rule-Modifications-for-2026-27.pdf
[2] Society for Science. (n.d.). Human participants. International rules for pre-college science research. https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/international-rules/human-participants/
[3] Society for Science. (n.d.). Rules for all projects. International rules for pre-college science research. https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/international-rules/rules-for-all-projects/
