The research team had not anticipated minors would sign up for the survey as the eligibility criteria was clear. As a result, the research team had not created additional steps to verify eligibility. It is most likely that the participants either ignored or did not read the instructions or eligibility criteria.

New Online Institutional Review Board (IRB) Help Tools:

Research Roundtables at Florida Atlantic:

The Office of Research Integrity launched the Research Roundtables in January 2024 beginning with a session on “Bots and Bad Actors in Online Surveys.” These sessions are hosted monthly on the third Wednesday of the month beginning at 11 a.m. via Zoom and are meant to be interactive education and training sessions.

Colleagues from across the university, as well as those from our sister state institutions, are invited to discuss critical topics in research. Additionally, some sessions will cover topics that are included within the Responsible Conduct of Research curriculum and as such will count towards one hour of training credit for RCR in-person training.

Research Roundtables help the Florida Atlantic research community with timely education and training to support scientific integrity.

To register for upcoming Research Roundtable sessions, visit IRB Training calendar. 

Spring semester 2024 wraps up another semester of successful RCR workshops. Thanks to esteemed faculty for their efforts and dedication to conducting these training workshops at both the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses. Support from both MPFI and the Graduate College in hosting, coordinating and delivering these valuable training sessions is appreciated. More than 30 people attended eight venues. RCR workshops are not offered during the summer semester but will return in the fall.

Research Integrity has updated the RCR website. Visit to stay updated on regulatory requirements as well as workshop schedules.

Registrations

IBC registration is required for the use of recombinant or synthetic DNA (including transgenic animals), human or primate biological materials (including blood, saliva, nasal swabs, or cell lines), biological toxins or venoms, microorganisms, viral vectors, and anything classified as Dual Use Research of Concern. Registration is required regardless of funding status.

All IBC registrations should now be in SciShield (formerly known as BioRaft). No new registrations or amendments will be reviewed using the old paper form.

Reminder to update any Significant Financial Interest Disclosure annually, or when outside interests change.

All of the questions in the Project Specific Disclosure should be answered in adequate detail, even when indication of an outside interest has no direct relationship with a sponsored research project and (in your opinion) does not have a financial conflict. The answers should contain enough information so that a reviewer can independently confirm that there is no overlap between the goals of the project and the goals of the outside interest without consulting any other document or asking the PI follow up questions. Include enough detail to make this possible and to avoid delaying the review of a disclosure.

For regular policy updates from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), check the IACUC policy and procedures.

Spring semester brings semi-annual inspections of facilities slated for scheduling in April. Researchers will receive notifications regarding time and details of the inspection schedule.

FAU’s animal care and use program will be undergoing tri-annual review for AAALAC re-accreditation. The program description was submitted and the onsite evaluation is expected between in the May-June timeframe. Stay tuned for more information regarding the AAALAC visit.

With the final launch of the IRB module in Novelution, Research Integrity will focus on the development and implementation of the IACUC module in Novelution. Stay tuned for updates.

Upon discovery of the enrollment of ineligible participants, Dr. PI and SR reviewed their research materials to ensure that accurate information regarding age restrictions had been communicated to participants. The research team contacted their IRB Admin to report the issue and obtain guidance on next steps. The IRB Admin informed Dr. PI and SR that since they did not intentionally enroll ineligible participants and reported the issue to the IRB, that the unanticipated problem was neither serious nor continuing. The IRB Admin suggested to Dr. PI and SR that they destroy the data collected from the ineligible participants, exclude their data from all analysis, and file a Promptly Reportable Information Form (Form 108) to the IRB detailing the unanticipated problem. The IRB Admin and IRB Chair determined Dr. PI and SR were prompt in their reporting and no further action was required.

For additional information and guidance on how to manage an anticipated problem or serious adverse event, review Policy 10.3.5, “Reporting Serious Adverse Events and Unanticipated Problems.”

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