FROM THE ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH

FROM THE ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH

Every month Research INKlings leads off with special announcements from the Office of the Associate Provost for Research, Dr. Stephen M. Lanier,

Office of Research Integrity will launch electronic submission for 2 key functions
In recent months the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has been developing and testing electronic versions of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) registration form and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) continuing review form with help from MUSC Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). These efforts are part of a larger ORI initiative to provide more efficient and effective tools for MUSC investigators. The anticipated launch date for the electronic versions of both IBC registration and IRB continuing review forms is January 2008.

Upgrades to the IRB continuing review submission process include enabling investigators to electronically submit the renewal forms to the IRB for review and approval, eliminating the requirement to re-submit the consent forms currently in use, and requiring only the most recent revision date(s) of the approved consent document(s) currently in use. Continuing reviews for IRB III will no longer require submission of a new Financial Disclosure Form. In addition, the on-line process will automatically populate the form with information about study personnel and investigators will need only to verify the accuracy of the personnel currently on file as previously approved by the IRB.

Major features of the electronic IBC form included:

Ability to register use of microbes, rDNA, and biotoxins on one form
Ability to assign single or multi access to others, e.g. postdocs
Ability to print out approval document
Ease of communication between the PI and ORI office
Better protection of records in the event of natural disasters

Thanks to Cynthia Karr, PhD and Vicki McGillivray of the Office of Research Integrity, Tatiana Smirnova of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and Sandy Euper, of the Office of Information Services, for their extraordinary efforts in bringing these projects to fruition.

MUSC goes for the gold standard in human research subject protection
MUSC will “Go for the Gold" in applying for accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). University President Ray Greenberg, Associate Provost for Research Stephen Lanier, Dr. Robert Malcolm, Director of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), and Vicki McGillivray, ORI Program Manager, will soon be asking your assistance in serving on working groups to prepare the initial application and subsequently participating in the site visit to be scheduled. AAHRPP accreditation applies to the University’s human research subject protection program, so individuals involved in human research activities at all levels will be asked to participate. Suggestions for improvements to our current program and your contributions in helping achieve the accreditation goal will be appreciated!

Paul McDermott will be new IACUC chair
We are pleased to announce that Paul J. McDermott, PhD, Professor, Departments of Medicine (Cardiology) and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, has accepted the chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Thank you, Paul, for taking on this important leadership role!

BSL-3 / ABSL-3 laboratory prepares for inspection
The MUSC BSL-3 / ABSL-3 Implementation Team and the BSL-3 Oversight committee met December 4 to review completed tasks and issues outstanding and develop consensus on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in anticipation of a USDA inspection to be scheduled in the near future. The acronym BSL stands for Biosafety Level 3, and ABSL indicates lab and housing facilities for research animals.