As FAU strives to become one of the top research institutions in the country, Research Integrity wants to assist our investigators in accomplishing their research goals. 

For this reason, we are increasing our training efforts with more compliance-related workshops.  We're also bringing you this special training edition of The Beacon to call attention to the many resources available to you. 

IRB Overview Workshops are offered to all faculty, staff and students who are new to the university and the IRB application process or to those who would like a refresher in conducting research with human subjects. The workshops provide an overview of how to find information on the Research Integrity website regarding the IRB as well as how to navigate the IRBNet portal to upload documents, share for signatures and submit a project. Training requirements and the ACT decision tool will also be discussed. Workshops will be offered twice a month on the Boca Raton campus and presented by IRB Coordinators Donna Simonovitch and Danae Montgomery. 

The Ethical Use of Animals, IACUC Function, and the 3R's of Animal Research is a mandatory training for all faculty, staff and students new to the FAU Animal Care and Use Program. The course provides an introduction of laboratory animal science and addresses topics such as the ethical and humane use of animals in research, testing and teaching, regulatory mandates, the IACUC's authority and functions and role of the Principal Investigator. The trainings will be offered monthly on the Boca and Jupiter campuses and will be presented by Research Integrity.

Additionally three hands-on training workshops are now a mandatory part of the training process for FAU faculty, staff, students working with rodents in their research, teaching or testing activities. The modules are offered as a four-hour course and are required for researchers working with laboratory animals. These workshops cover handling and restraint, injection techniques, euthanasia techniques and facilities training. The workshops will be offered monthly on the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses and will be presented by Comparative Medicine.
For more information on changes to researcher training, please see the policy here.

The Responsible Conduct of Research training workshops for the Spring 2017 semester is available online here. These workshops supplement the RCR CITI training that is required for undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral researchers being paid from a funded study.

If your College or Department would like any member of the Research Integrity team to come to your group to conduct a training session, please contact us at [email protected]. We welcome the opportunity to come meet with and discuss research ethics areas with you.

Understanding we all live in an era of information overload, we try to keep our messages as concise as possible. However, sometimes to convey accurate information, details in an email or letter may contain valuable information that will facilitate your research. Please read the emails and letters in their entirety. And if you are still unsure, then contact any member of Research Integrity with your questions. 

The FAU Diving and Boating Safety Committee (DBSC) now reports to the Division of Research and will be facilitated through Research Integrity with Dr. Dale Gawlik, professor of biological sciences, serving as the new chair. The newly constituted DBSC met on Dec. 2, 2016, and it's tasked with revising the committee's charter, operational procedures and communicating with those involved in the program in the upcoming year.

If you have questions about the new committee, please contact Elisa Gaucher, assistant vice president for Research Integrity. For all other questions, contact the Diving and Boating Safety Program and the Dive Safety Officer, which continue to report to the Environmental Health and Safety Unit (EH&S) here.

New IACUC Protocol Form
The long-awaited new IACUC protocol form will go live on our website Feb. 1. There will be a one-month transition period before it becomes required for all new protocol submissions. The form, which has been tested over the past few months, is now more user friendly and will better capture the details of your research in order to facilitate reviews.   Effective March 1, Research Integrity will only accept the new IACUC protocol form. After this date, it will not accept the old form. Please contact us at [email protected] with questions.

Revamping IRB Continuing Review Form
The Human Subjects Research Protections team will be revising the IRB Continuing Review form over the next couple of months. Stay tuned for that revised form.