Compliance and Integrity

• Faculty/Principal Investigator Research Onboarding Checklist

  • ​Download and complete this modifiable checklist to ensure that you, as a new U-M faculty member or new principal investigator (PI), begin your research in an effective and compliant manner.   

• Faculty/Principal Investigator Research Offboarding Checklist

  • Download and complete this modifiable checklist prior to leaving the University of Michigan to ensure that your U-M research activity is concluded or transferred appropriately, as applicable.

• Research Smart

  • ​Research Smart is a web portal providing researchers with key information and current news to help apply proper safety measures in their campus laboratory. Use Research Smart to locate resources for investigators and unit safety coordinators, and to find your Unit Safety Committee representative.

• Environment, Health and Safety

  • The Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) works with researchers to ensure the health, safety and protection of the researcher and the environment. Visit the EHS website for resources regarding the safe use of chemicals, biologics, radiation, animals, lasers and more; including the use of MI Safety Portal to manage your chemical safety training, inspection and inventory records.

• Integrity of Scholarship and Research

  • Integrity in scholarship and teaching is a fundamental value upon which U-M is founded. The university's Research Integrity Program provides the policy outlining the ethical expectations for, and responsibilities of, its research community, and the procedures for investigating research misconduct allegations.
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• ​Responsible Conduct of Research and Scholarship (RCRS) Training ​​​​

  • The University of Michigan is committed to fostering and upholding the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research and scholarship. U-M follows all federal and state guidelines regarding RCRS training for principal investigators, scholars, trainees, staff, and students. All U-M employees and students engaged in research and scholarship are required to complete RCRS training.​​

• ​​PEERRS

  • The university's Program for Education and Evaluation in Responsible Research and Scholarship (PEERRS) provides training required per university, state and federal regulations regarding responsible conduct of research. PEERRS certification may be required for participation on a study or project team, depending on your role, the funding source and/or the type of research.

Regulatory review and approval of certain types of proposed research is required prior to the start of the work. The U-M regulatory review committees include:

• Conflicts of Interest

  • COI committees are responsible for the review of potential conflicts of interest (COI) in research activity, as identified through outside interest disclosures and the management of identified conflicts. U-M has two COI committees:

    • UMOR COI: Ann Arbor campus units

    • MEDCOI:  Michigan Medicine units​

• Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight

  • The U-M Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight (HPSCRO) compliance program is responsible for the ethical review of proposed research involving the derivation and use of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells at the university.

• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

  • The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is ultimately responsible for approving, requiring modification of, or prohibiting the use of, vertebrate animals in research, teaching and/or testing activities at U-M. This includes supervision, coordination, training, guidance and review of every project proposed to include the use of vertebrate animals to ensure the project has appropriate scientific merit.

• Institutional Biosafety Committee

  • U-M's Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is responsible for assessing the biosafety containment level for research involving recombinant DNA and synthetic nucleic acid molecules. The IBC also oversees research with other potentially hazardous biologics.

• Institutional Review Boards

  • An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is responsible for the review and approval, or determination of exemption, of any proposed research study involving human subjects to ensure appropriate measures will be taken to protect the rights and welfare of participants. U-M has nine IRBs guided by the Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) and managed by two IRB offices, IRB-HSBS and IRBMED.

• Animal Care and Use Office

  • The Animal Care and Use Office (ACUO) works hand-in-hand with researchers and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to ensure that all projects adhere to university policies and federal laws that require a review of projects for the humane treatment and judicious use of vertebrate animals. Specifically, the ACUO assists with:

    • Review of animal use applications and protocol modifications

    • Conducting animal facility and laboratory inspections

    • Providing training and guidance for animal care and use personnel

    • Maintenance of a 24-hour hotline for reporting animal concerns

• Controlled Substances in Research

  • The Controlled Substances (CS) Monitoring Program assists researchers in adhering to strict federal and state regulations pertaining to the use of controlled substances in animal research, human subjects research or for in vitro/analytical research. The CS Monitor provides:

    • Training to laboratory staff regarding licensing and registration requirements, record keeping and procedures for storage, disposal and waste.

    • Annual meetings to review records and identify corrective actions to prevent problems in the event of an audit by the State of Michigan or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).​

• Export Controls

  • The U-M Export Controls Program assists university researchers with questions about and actions required for compliance with federal export control regulations, including:

    • Evaluating research activity (e.g., sponsored project, technology transfer, international travel) for export controls conditions in coordination with the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects, the Office of Technology Transfer and other university units

    • Reviewing Technology Control Plans (TCPs)

    • Obtaining appropriate federal licenses and other approvals for the export controlled research activity

    • Advising on, and monitoring the completion of, required export controls training

• Human Research Protection Program

  • The Human Research Protection Program provides oversight for and governs the application of federal regulations for the protections of human research participants through its operations manual, which guides researchers, the IRBs and other entities involved in human subjects research at U-M. Under the HRPP, U-M has four IRB offices that assist researchers and its nine IRBs with the review of IRB applications and informed consent documentation to ensure adherence to university policy and federal regulations.

    • IRB-HSBS: Social/behavioral human subjects research, Ann Arbor campus units, Dearborn, and Flint

    • IRBMED: Biomedical human subjects research, Michigan Medicine units 

• Office of Regulatory Affairs

  • The U-M Medical School's Office of Regulatory Affairs leads or facilitates the prevention and resolution of concerns, disputes and compliance issues related to laws, regulations, policies, accreditation and certification requirements, and other professionally accepted standards that impact the activities and reputation of the Medical School.

• Privacy Board

  • The Privacy Board within the U-M Medical School Office of Research operates under the authority of, and in accordance with, HIPAA and applicable university policies and procedures. The Privacy Board is authorized to review and approve certain waivers of HIPAA authorization.