VCOM Institutional Policy and Procedure Manual

VCOM Policy and Procedure

Policy #R011

3. L IMITATIONS OF VCOM P RINCIPAL I NVESTIGATOR S TATUS Postdoctoral fellows or associates and students at VCOM are eligible to apply for VCOM PI/PD status, with certain restrictions. For these individuals, the following conditions apply:  A full-time VCOM faculty member must serve as faculty advisor.  The faculty advisor shall retain the responsibilities of a PI under this policy.  The postdoctoral associate or fellow, or student shall be responsible for the intellectual conduct of the project within the oversight of the faculty advisor.  The proposal to the sponsor may name the postdoc or student as Co-PI as long as the faculty advisor is named as the responsible individual (PI/PD). Some project announcements are directed specifically to the support of individual postdoctoral fellows or students. Examples include pre- and postdoctoral fellowship programs. These formats typically require the applicant (the postdocs or student) be identified in the application as the Principal Investigator. If this is required in an application, the student shall be named PI; however, the ORA must be informed of this prior to submission of approval signatures to ensure all signatory officials are aware of the requirements. 4. G UIDELINES FOR THE R EVIEW OF S TUDENT R ESEARCH Post-doctoral fellows and students cannot conduct research without having a faculty advisor who is responsible for overseeing the research activities. All research, outreach and training projects must be submitted through the Office of Research Administration (ORA) regardless of whether or not the project is an internal or extramural grant. In addition to the application information, the student must also submit a letter signed by the faculty member serving as the advisor, indicating that he/she agrees to act as PI/PD for the duration of the project. Research projects in an institutional setting (i.e., educational projects, independent student research, clinical research) must be submitted to the VCOM Institutional Review Board (IRB) regardless of whether or not the project meets the federal definition of “research.” The federal definition of research is a systematic investigation involving human subjects which is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. a. Faculty Advisor Responsibilities In agreeing to be the faculty advisor for a VCOM student, this individual must agree to the following: 1. Review and approve the project prior to submission to the ORA, and indicate in a signed letter to the ORA stating role as PI/PD and approval of the project; 2. Review the materials for submission to the IRB for accuracy and completeness; 3. Assist and support the student in his/her interaction with the IRB and for oversee the resolution of any issues arising during the review process; and 4. Oversee the student's research to ensure that human subjects are protected (e.g., the protocol is followed as approved, any unanticipated adverse events are reported as required, etc.). b. Student Researcher Responsibilities Post-doctoral fellows and students who are co-PIs have responsibilities as listed in the VCOM Grants Manual and the IRB Submission Guide . Typically, student projects are short in duration and in many cases are completed in less than a year. It is important that the IRB be notified in writing when the project is completed so that the IRB file may be closed. 5. R ECOGNITION OF A UTHORSHIP IN P ROPOSALS The title of PI/PD is primarily a designation of institutional responsibility for the conduct of sponsored research. As such, the title does not necessarily represent the principal authorship of the proposed document.

VCOM Student Research Investigator Policy

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