The West Virginia University Office of Research Integrity & Compliance (ORIC)

ORIC is committed to helping faculty, staff, and students comply with all applicable federal, state, and institutional requirements and policies. Research integrity and compliance areas covered by this office include human research protections, animal welfare, biosafety, conflict of interest in research, export control and the responsible conduct of research. The ORIC Newsline online newsletter has the goal of keeping the WVU research community informed and up-to-date on policies and procedures, guidelines, educational programs, regulatory changes, and monitoring and accountability in these areas.

Human Research Protections

Deception Policy Added

The IRB Standard Operating Procedures have been updated to reflect a new policy on deception involving human subjects. The deception policy can be found by downloading the SOPs and navigating to the newly added section 3.7.10.

Tissue Banking Policy Updated

The IRB Standard Operating Procedures have been updated to reflect a new policy on tissue banking involving human subjects. The tissue banking policy can be found by downloading the SOPs and navigating to the newly added section 3.7.11. The tissue banking form has also been updated.

Responsible Conduct of Research

Researchers and administrators at the world famous St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital heard West Virginia University’s Dr. Daniel Vasgird, director of the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, speak on the critical need for research institutions to nurture high levels of public trust and concomitant respect for their product as part of an overall research enterprise.
The objectives of the Danny Thomas Lectures Series are to: educate and inform the St. Jude basic science and clinical faculty of the latest cutting edge research and therapies in biomedical sciences and bring to St. Jude information from a range of experts that promotes continued excellence in patient care, research and administration.
“Integrity and responsibility are words with profound implications, especially for those who participate in the global community of science,” Vasgird told the St. Jude audience. “Research as a profession generally flourishes when the public that supports it and ultimately makes use of its products has high regard for its ways and means.”
Vasgird’s St. Jude appearance traced the evolution of techniques related to the responsible conduct of research of the last half century and stressed the need to emphasize compliance with rules for integrity in order to ensure the continued public trust in institutional research results.

For questions, concerns, and inquiries about WVU’s RCR requirements, please contact Jonathan Young by e-mail at Jonathan.Young@mail.wvu.edu or by phone at
(304) 293-1119.

Animal Care and Use

Submitting an Amendment to IACUC Protocols

When submitting an amendment to your IACUC protocol, please follow these steps:

1. Use the most current version of your approved IACUC protocol. If you are not sure of which version is the most current, please feel free to contact us and we would be happy to send it to you.
2. Incorporate the changes you plan for your amendment into the body of your most current approved protocol and highlight these changes. If previous highlights are present, please remove these.
3. If you are removing something from the body of the approved protocol as a part of your amendment, use a single line to cross out the text being removed and highlight these changes as well.
4. In addition to incorporating the changes for the amendment directly into your protocol form, PLEASE submit a BRIEF statement that MUST include 1) an explanation of the changes and why these changes are being requested, 2) the number of animals being added/removed (if applicable), 3) the protocol number, and 4) the PI name. This summary statement may be supplied in the body of your email used to send your attached and revised protocol to the ACUC office.
5. Submit the highlighted version along with the summary statement to mhollander@mail.wvu.edu or ACUC@mail.wvu.edu. Remember to include the protocol number.
   

h4. Biosafety

A University-wide Biosafety manual is currently being developed. Please check the ORIC website at http://oric.research.wvu.edu for updates or continue to read future versions of this newsletter. The exposure control document is also currently being updated.

Export Control

The Deemed Export Control Policy for WVU principal investigators has been developed and will be posted to the ORIC website at a future date. The Export Control Officer, Dr. Moter is responsible for assessing and communicating the requirements of U.S. export controls on WVU research activities. She serves as the primary point of contact on export control issues, both internally and with outside government agencies. Dr. Moter can be reached at Vijayasmitha.Moter@mail.wvu.edu.

Conflict of Interest in Research

The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC) has recently informed all Deans and Department Chairs within the University about the importance of the WVU Disclosure of Interest in Research (DOIR) Form. This form was previously entitled “Conflict of Interest in Research Certification Form”.

All WVU faculty members, whether currently involved with research or not, should complete and submit this form annually (by June 30th of each year) to the ORIC. It is especially important that any University investigator/key personnel engaged in a research study, regardless of the source of funding, who wishes to be eligible to engage in a particular research program, submit the DOIR Form.

In addition to faculty and staff, any WVU student, graduate or undergraduate, also participating in research through the University should also annually submit a DOIR Form.

Federal regulations require the University to manage any potential conflicts of interest through an appropriate management process which is initiated and generally resolved through this disclosure. Along with federal regulations requiring disclosure, it is also required by the WVU Policy on Conflicts of Interest in Research. Both the WVU Policy on Conflicts of Interest in Research and the WVU Disclosure of Interest in Research Form can be found at the following link: http://oric.research.wvu.edu/conint.

If there are any questions regarding who needs to complete and submit a DOIR Form, whether or not a DOIR is currently on file, or any other questions regarding the WVU Policy, please feel free to contact Devin Goudy (304-293-5475) or Dr. Daniel Vasgird, ORIC Director (304-293-6094).