The Atlanta Research & Education Foundation and the Atlanta VA Medical Center have a cooperative agreement with the Emory University Institutional Review Board (IRB). All studies using human subjects must undergo review by the Emory IRB and evidence of approval must be forwarded to the Atlanta VA Medical Center before a project can commence at the hospital.

The Emory University IRB is a research oversight committee charged with assuring, both in advance and by periodic review, that appropriate steps are taken to protect the rights and welfare of humans participating as subjects in approved research studies.