Other members not affiliated with the University are from the surrounding community and include attorneys, teachers, and other lay persons. The alternate members include a similar distribution of disciplines. On each review board, at least one member will be assigned to be primarily concerned with scientific areas and another member will be assigned to be primarily concerned with nonscientific areas. When reviewing FDA regulated investigations, at least one member will by a physician. They also provide staff support for the other committees.
Job descriptions are consistent with the State system.
The IRB interacts with several MUSC committees. The IRB Chair is a member of the Radiation Safety Committee which reviews requests for use of radioactive materials and approves the use by licensing mechanism. A quorum consists of eight members plus the Chair. A simple majority is required to approve or disapprove a protocol. Alternate members, when reviewing, have full voting rights.