Student Led Research and Faculty Advisors

Students conducting human subjects research are eligible to act as Principal Investigator only when they are under the oversight of a Faculty Advisor (tenure related and non-tenure track faculty) meeting the qualifications of a Principal Investigator.

The Faculty Advisor must agree to provide oversight for the conduct of the research and assume the same Principal Investigator Responsibilities as required by their student. The Faculty Advisor is expected to support the student researcher with submissions to Research Compliance Services and the IRB.This includes support the development of protocol materials, review of materials prior to submission, and preparing responses during the review process.

Faculty members advising students on human subjects research must be listed as a study team member and have current human subjects training certification. The training requirement is satisfied by completing one of two online training courses offered by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Either the Biomedical Researchers or the Social-Behavioral-Educational Researchers learner group will satisfy the requirement.

How to Demonstrate Faculty Advisor Commitment

Ancillary Review. To confirm the Faculty Advisor's approval of the research and willingness to assume Principal Investigator responsibilities, the Faculty Advisor must complete an "Ancillary Review" in the research administration portal (RAP).

  1. The Faculty Advisor must be listed on the study and assigned a PI Proxy role.
  2. The student creates the Ancillary Review for the Faculty Advisor to complete.
  3. Once the Ancillary Review is created, the Faculty Advisor will receive an email notification that the review must be completed.
  4. The Faculty Advisor must accept the submission by managing the Ancillary Review.

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