Magnetic Resonance Research Committee (MRRC)

The mandate of the MRRC is to :

1. Review all research proposals for scientific validity, safety, and relevance to the neuroscientific mission of The Neuro. Approval from the MRRC is required by The Neuro Research Ethics Committee for all proposals involving MRI.
2. Advise the BIC Director on practical aspects of the MR research operation, e.g. equipment time scheduling procedures; defining qualified users; research MRI scan consent form standardization, etc.

Members of the MRRC

Procedure

The MRR Committee meets on the FIRST TUESDAY of the month. Investigators wishing to submit protocols should prepare a single pdf file of the documents in the correct order (protocol, consent form, declaration of consent, questionnaire) and send the file to MRRC.mni [at] mcgill.ca 10 working days prior to the date of the meeting.

Please note that this e-mail address is solely for the purpose of transmitting your documents for review.
All other enquiries can be addressed to either Dr. Andrea Bernasconi.

Preparation of the Protocol for Submission to the MRRC

1. The protocol is written up on the APPLICATION FOR INITIAL REVIEW FOR SUBMISSION TO THE REB (Research Ethics Board). This form is available in PDF (Application for Initial Review for submission to the REB) and Word document (Application for Initial Review for submission to the REB).
   Please DO NOT CHANGE the numbering as it appears on the form. Also, please leave the date that appears in the bottom right hand corner of the form as this indicates when the form was updated. All questions MUST be answered.
   While you may append forms appropriate to your particular Ethics Committee, in order to harmonize the MRRC review process, you are required to submit the "Application for Initial Review for Submission to the REB" (links on this site). It is imperative that an investigator from the MNI/H is associated with the proposed study, particularly for studies originating outside the MNI/H. However, it is not required that this individual is the Principal Investigator. The association can be that of an associate on the protocol or an MNH physician.
2. Each submission must also come with a CONSENT FORM, a DECLARATION OF CONSENT and an MRI QUESTIONNAIRE, in English and French. These forms are available here. At the top of each page of the consent form please include the title of the protocol and the site at which the work will be performed. In the bottom right-hand corner of each page of the consent form the version date of the consent form, i.e. the date on which the form was prepared, must be indicated.
3. All protocols requiring MR scans that have received approval from McGill University's IRB (Internal Review Board) must still be submitted to the MR Research Committee.
4. Following the meeting of the MRRC, the Principal Investigator will receive a letter with the Committee’s decision and recommendations, should changes be required.

Approval Prior to Scheduling Scanning

1. An investigator must receive a letter of approval from the MR Research Committee before scanning time can be arranged.
2. To request scanning time go directly to the www.mni.mcgill.ca/bic. This site will provide all information pertaining to:

• Scheduling scanning time
• Billing and Payment Policies

Marianna Papamihelakis, marianna.papamihelakis [at] mcgill.ca (Email)