Human Subjects & Institutional Review Board (IRB)

These meetings and due dates are applicable for FULL BOARD protocol applications only. Exempt and Expedited protocol applications can be submitted at any time, including over the summer. 

Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 Convened IRB Meeting Schedule:

• Wednesday August 30

• Wednesday September 13

• Wednesday October 11

• Wednesday November 8

• Wednesday December 13

• Wednesday January 24

• Wednesday February 14

• Wednesday March 13

• Wednesday April 10

• Wednesday May 8  

The IRB has developed several useful tools for those engaged in, or considering, research projects at CMU. 

• Decision Tree: Does My Project Require IRB Approval?
  • PDF with clickable navigation (ideal for in-browser viewing)
  • PDF with hover text (ideal for viewing in Adobe)
• What's the Difference between...Pedagogy, Course Assignments, and Disseminated Research?
  • PDF with clickable navigation (ideal for in-browser viewing)
  • PDF with hover text (ideal for viewing in Adobe)
• Types of Non-Human Subjects Research
  • PDF with clickable navigation (ideal for in-browser viewing)
  • PDF with hover text (ideal for viewing in Adobe)
• Research with Us! 
  • Learn about the IRB's workflow.
  • Learn about the 3 different types of IRB reviews: Exempt, Expedited, and Full Board

Dr. Gannon White - Department of Kinesiology (07/2024) - IRB Chair

Dr. Gannon A. White completed his PhD in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Biomechanics from the University of Northern Colorado. While at UNC, Dr. White minored in Applied Statistics. He went on to teach Exercise Science and Statistics at the University of Arkansas for 9 years. He was also the graduate coordinator of the Exercise Science Program at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include EMG, economy of motion, or anything that is uniquely quantifiable.

Ms. Laureen Cantwell-Jurkovic - Library (10/2026)

Laureen P. Cantwell-Jurkovic completed her Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) at Drexel University with a concentration in Academic Libraries. She worked in academic libraries at Universities in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Tennessee prior to joining Colorado Mesa in 2014. Among other scholarly projects, she co-edited the book Finding Your Seat at the Table: Roles for Librarians on Institutional Regulatory Boards and Committees (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) and co-authored the article “Librarians and the Institutional Review Board (IRB): Relationships Matter” (Collaborative Librarianship, 2015). She’s an active researcher with several current projects, including one investigating the cultivation of curiosity among undergraduate nursing students. She is currently working on a PhD in Information Science through the University at Buffalo.

Dr. Shiang-Lih Chen McCain - Davis School of Business (04/2026)

Shiang-Lih Chen McCain, PhD, specializes in marketing. Her research interests include consumer buying decision process, service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and service recovery. Before joining Colorado Mesa University, McCain taught marketing research, consumer behavior, business statistics, hospitality marketing, hospitality data analytics and strategic marketing in a service environment at Widener University.

Dr. Kathleen Hall - Department of Nursing (07/2024)

Kathleen Hall, PhD, teaches primarily in the graduate nursing program and oversees the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) program. Her clinical background and research interests are broad. She is a 2019 Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing from the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence. In addition to gerontology, her interests include cultural aspects of care, chronic disease management, cancer survivorship, and health behavior change. Her research experience includes both quantitative and qualitative methods. Hall has published and presented her original research nationally. 

Dr. Jeremy Hawkins - Department of Kinesiology (04/2024)

My educational background is in athletic training and physical medicine and rehabilitation.  With that in mind, my primary research interests are in therapeutic modalities and whether they help or hinder the healing process.  Additionally, I am interested in athletic training education practices and how to best prepare athletic trainers for productive careers. 

 

Dr. Les Miller - Department of Languages, Literature & Mass Communication (7/2025) 

Leslie C. Miller, as the only full-time philosopher at CMU, teaches most of the philosophy courses offered. He has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from CMU, an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University, and is an APPA certified philosophical practitioner. His primary focus is on helping his clients and students learn how to mitigate their suffering and dare to flourish. This work is furthered by his position as Reviews Editor for the journal Philosophical Practice. His scholarly research, clinical practice, and publication interests lie in mindfulness and metacognition, which are essential elements in the service of reducing depression, stress, anxiety, PTSD episodes, and panic attacks. He has served on the IRB for more than 10 years and looks forward to continuing to protect the rights of human research subjects for years more.

Dr. Rick Ott - Department of Mathematics and Statistics (09/2026)

Rick Ott, PhD, mainly teaches statistics courses, including Introductory Probability and Statistics, Sampling Techniques, Mathematical Statistics, Design of Experiments, Statistical methods, Engineering Statistics and Regression Analysis. 

Ott has a variety of experience in the STEM fields. He worked as a aerospace engineer at the Johnson Space Center on the NASA Space Shuttle Landing Team. This experience has allowed Ott to introduce real life experiences and applications to his statistics classes.

He involves students in a variety of research projects. Topics have included municipality surveys, medical treatment analysis, engineering quality control, public health issues and games of chance.

Dr. Dongjun (DJ) Rew - Department of Business (4/2025)

Dongjun Rew, PhD, teaches both undergraduate- and graduate-level marketing courses including principles of marketing, consumer behavior, promotions, digital marketing, marketing research and marketing strategy. He is very interested in consumers and their behaviors in the context of service. By using quantitative research methods, he understands relationships among important factors that affect consumer behaviors, such as satisfaction, attitude, repurchase intention and loyalty. Currently, he is conducting research on different topics in consumer research, such as building brand loyalty in sharing economy, service productivity and quality impact on customer satisfaction, and consumer decision making process by analyzing brain images.

Dr. Kristin Santos - Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences (04/2024)

Kristin Santos, PhD, earned two bachelor's of science degrees (criminal justice and psychology) from Lake Superior State University. She earned her Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, and then went on to the University of Akron for her PhD in sociology with criminology and mental illness concentrations. An assistant professor in the criminal justice program, Santos currently teaches corrections; research methods; deviance; criminology; victimology; media and crime; and mental illness and crime. Her areas of research interest include criminology, domestic violence, power differentials related to violence, stalking, sexual assault, mental illness and deviance. Santos also has practical experience in corrections. She worked as a juvenile corrections officer with minimum to closed (maximum) security youth, often on sex offender and treatment units, as well as on general population units. She has also worked in a step-down crisis home for the mentally ill, often with people just released from jails and hospitals with mental health units, who need additional monitoring and structure before they can be fully released back into society.

Dr. Megan Sherbenou - Department of Biology (07/2024)

Megan Sherbenou’s scientific interests center around human biology, evolution and health. She teaches classes that address these topics (e.g., Human Anatomy and Physiology). The primary focus of her research is the effect of high altitude hypoxia (low oxygen) on humans; this includes both the short- and long-term effects of hypoxia and how the human body adjusts to compensate. Sherbenou has studied genetic, biochemical, anatomical and physiological differences among populations (modern human evolution) and between healthy and non-healthy individuals. Sherbenou has also conducted field work at high altitude locales, such as Leadville, Telluride, and Bolivia.

Ms. T. Vail Shoultz-McCole - Department of Early Childhood Education, WCCC (10/2026)

Shoultz-McCole opened a child care facility and enjoyed teaching children between the ages of 2-6 for more than 14 years. In 1999, her childcare facility was chosen by Qualistar to win the quality rating grant. She is proud to say that for three years her facility was awarded the top 4 Star rating for quality. During that time she also attended Mesa State, now CMU, focusing on early childhood education part-time to attain her BA in social sciences and then completed her master in education early childhood. She is a Buell Fellow at Denver University. Recently she completed her second master's in instructional design.

Dr. Mary Jo Stanley - Department of Health Sciences (03/2026)

Mary Jo Stanley, PhD, has practiced in community, public and school health settings, and in acute care in the ICU and PACU. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, Clinical Nurse Specialist and School Nurse Credential from San Jose State University. Stanley completed her PhD in Nursing with an emphasis in education from the University of Northern Colorado where she was also faculty for many years.

She is professor emeritus in the School of Nursing at California State University Stanislaus where she served as the RN-BSN program director and then director for the Nursing Department. She is co-author of the textbook Community and Public Health Nursing Promoting the Public’s Health. She is a member of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators and Sigma Theta Tau International.

Dr. Jeremy Tost - Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences (07/2025)

Jeremy Tost is an assistant professor of psychology, having earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from New Mexico State University. He teaches Memory and Cognition, Research Methods, and other lower division courses. His doctoral training emphasized research design and applied statistics within a social-cognitive framework. His dissertation focused on cognitive mechanisms to improve self-control.  Jeremy was part of the psychology program at Valdosta State University for seven years prior to arriving at CMU in August of 2018. Jeremy is currently investigating personality correlates of mystical experiences and the retrieval of long-term memories using virtual reality.

Dr. Nate Bachman - Department of Kinesiology (07/2025) - Alternate Member

Nate Bachman, PhD, is an instructor in the Department of Kinesiology. His teaches Physiology of Exercise, Clinical Exercise Physiology and Advanced Exercise Prescription as well as Sport Nutrition. Bachman’s primary career interest is to promote high-quality educational experiences for students in and out of the classroom.