ORSP Division of Research Integrity and Compliance

Tom Lombardo, PhD, Director

The mission of the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance is to ensure compliance with all university, state, and federal policies and regulations on research in a manner that facilitates the research mission of The University.

Primary Goals ~ 

  • Create a culture of Responsible Conduct of Research among administrators, researchers, students involved in research, and research support staff that promotes the seamless integration of compliance procedures and research integrity with all aspects of research.
  • Increase adherence to compliance regulations, by developing and continuously updating policies and procedures and through training and disseminating policies and procedures to research personnel.
  • Streamline procedures to minimize the compliance burden on researchers while meeting all regulations and maintaining 100 percent compliance.
  • Achieve and maintain accreditation from the premiere accrediting bodies for human and animal research.

Primary Functions ~

The primary functions of the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance include the following:

  • Protect human research subjects through its support of and interface with the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  1. Ensure understanding of underlying ethics, regulations, and local policies and procedures on human subjects protections by educating IRB members and all human research faculty, staff, and students.
  2. Process IRB applications, amendments, adverse/unexpected event reports, and progress reports and assist researchers with completion of forms.
  • Oversee the humane care and use of research animals through its support of and interface with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
  1. Ensure understanding of underlying ethics, regulations, and local policies and procedures on research animal welfare and care by educating IACUC members and all animal research faculty, staff, and students.
  2. Process IACUC applications, amendments, progress reports, and significant event reports and assist researchers with completion of forms.
  3. Ensure that animal facilities meet all federal standards.
  • Educate all personnel involved with research in the Responsible Conduct of Research.
  • Educate all personnel involved with research affected by Export Controls and oversee Export Control compliance in conjunction with the Division of Sponsored Programs Administration and the University Attorney's Office.
  • Comply with federal reporting regulations, including maintaining assurances with the Department of Health and Human Services (Office for Human Research Protections and Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare) and maintaining registration with the Department of Agriculture (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care Program).