A new report summarizes the proceedings of the "National Conference on Alternative IRB Models: Optimizing Human Subject Protections," held last November.  The conference focused on perceived barriers to the use of alternative IRB models and suggested strategies for overcoming them so as to optimize human subject protection. The event was co-sponsored by the AAMC, the National Institutes of Health, the Office for Human Research Protections, the Veterans Administration, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. For more information, please visit http://www.aamc.org/research/irbreview/start.htm.