Regulatory & Research Compliance | University at Albany

Research Ethics at UAlbany

Institutions that accept research funding from federal agencies are required by the federal Office of Research Integrity policy to have policies and procedures in place for the review and disposition of allegations of research misconduct.

The Vice President for Research and Economic Development is the Institutional Official for the University’s research compliance program and for implementing and carrying out the procedures, as provided in the University’s Policy and Procedures on Misconduct in Research and Scholarship.

The Research Compliance Officer (RCO) is the Vice President’s designee and reports directly to the Vice President. The RCO works with various University committees, boards and offices to monitor specific areas of research compliance, including but not limited to:

Contact UAlbany’s Research Compliance Officer at [email protected] or 866-857-5459.

The Office of Regulatory and Research Compliance (ORRC) coordinates various institution-wide research compliance policies and procedures, in partnership with researchers and institutional stakeholders, to ensure the University meets its obligations to regulators, accreditors, employees and students. Contact the ORRC team.

Use our Anonymous Reporting Form to report any concerns regarding research conducted at UAlbany.

Required Training

As a prerequisite for conducting certain types of research activities, researchers (including staff, students, postdocs and others) must complete required ethics and compliance training courses. These include, but are not limited to:

Conflict of Interest: Anyone applying for or receiving external funding must complete the "Managing Conflict of Interest in Research" training. Visit the Conflict of Interest Disclosure tab above for more information.
Human Participants: Anyone working with human subjects must complete training. Visit the Human Participants page to determine which course(s) you must complete.
Animals: Anyone caring for or using animals in research must complete training. Visit the Care & Use of Animals page to determine which course(s) you must complete.
NSF, NIH & NIFA Funding: Anyone whose research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), you must complete the "Responsible Conduct of Research" training.
External Funding: Depending on your externally sponsored award’s specific requirements, you may be required to complete the "Foreign Influence and Export Controls" training and/or other courses.

Additionally, you may optionally complete any offered training if you wish.

For questions or concerns related to training, please contact the Office of Regulatory and Research Compliance at 518-437-3850 or [email protected].

All training is provided via the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) system. Researchers create and manage their own accounts, research curriculum and course completion records.

Always save copies of your course completion records as documentation of your training. You may be asked to provide copies of your certificates for certain reviews or audits of your activities.

If you’ve never had a CITI Program account before, you must register for a new account:

Go to the CITI Program website.
Click “Register.”
Search “SUNY - University at Albany.”
Follow the registration instructions and enter your UAlbany email address in the required field. Upon completing registration, you’ll be directed to the Main Menu / My Courses page.

Updating an Existing Account

If you already have a CITI Program account that’s affiliated with another organization:

Go to the CITI Program website.
Click “Login.”
At the bottom of the Main Menu / My Courses page, click “Affiliate with Another Institution.”
Search “SUNY - University at Albany.”
Follow the registration instructions and enter your UAlbany email address in the required field. Upon completing registration, you’ll be directed to the Main Menu / My Courses page.

Add Courses

To add courses to your curriculum:

Go to the CITI Program website.
Click “Login.”
On the Main Menu / My Courses page, under the heading My Learner Tools for SUNY - University at Albany, click “Add a Course.”
Answer the setup questionnaire to select courses.
Once you click “Submit,” the courses you selected will appear on the Main Menu / My Courses page.
Click on the course name to begin your course.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

UAlbany is committed to promoting objectivity in research and maintaining high ethical standards to ensure the design, conduct and reporting of research is not biased by the financial interests or outside obligations to individuals acting on behalf of the University.

Any students, faculty or staff who receive or apply for external research funds must disclose any significant financial interests and/or significant obligations that are unrelated to the University. This includes both foreign and domestic interests and obligations and includes those of their immediate family members.

Researchers are required to complete the conflict of interest training and disclosure process annually. Their Annual Certification must be filed upon initial application for external funding and whenever the researcher’s significant financial interests or outside obligations change materially. Use the instructions below to complete this process.

Researchers may not have any interest or engage in any outside activity that results in unmanaged or unmitigated conflict of interest. A researcher's responsibilities and obligations to the University must be clearly separate from any personal financial interests or obligations.

If a potential or actual conflict is determined to exist, researchers must consult with the Conflict of Interest Committee, abide by the committee’s review process and collaborate on the development of a management plan.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.

Step 1: Complete the Conflict of Interest Training

You must complete the Managing Conflict of Interest Training in Research Training online via the CITI Training Program before you submit the Conflict of Interest Disclosure.

Visit the Required Trainings tab above for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Submit your Conflict of Interest Certification

You will not be able to complete the disclosure process until your training report has automatically transferred from the CITI Program to the UAlbany PACS Portal, which usually takes about 24 hours.

Once that’s complete, follow these instructions:

Select the “COI” tab in the UAlbany PACS Portal.
Click the “Edit My Certification” button.
Answer all questions, enter any disclosures and continue. You can save and exit the Smart Form at any time.
When you are done and ready to submit your Annual Certification, check the box to finalize your Certification and then click “Finish.”

If you have no disclosures requiring review, the status will change from “Draft” to “No Review Required.”

If you have disclosures requiring review, the status will change from “Draft” to “Administrative Review.”

For disclosures requiring review, the Conflict of Interest Administrator will contact you with additional instructions and to explain the review process in detail.

Disclosures may be forwarded for additional campus review to determine if a management plan for the conflict or potential conflict is required. You will have an opportunity to review the mitigation plan.

Data Use Agreements & Genomic Data Assurances

Data Use Agreements

A Data Use Agreement (DUA) is a contract outlining the transfer of nonpublic, or otherwise restricted, data from the entity that developed the data to another entity looking to use the data. UAlbany enters DUAs so our researchers can access third-party data needed for their work.

The DUA review process safeguards our faculty, staff and students, as well as their work, while ensuring the University meets its various obligations, such as federal and state laws, for the responsible use of data.

The Office of Regulatory and Research Compliance (ORRC) manages the University’s DUA review process, working and consulting with other offices as needed. Contact [email protected] with any questions.

How to Request a DUA Review

All DUA requests, whether they be an initial request or a modification request, should be submitted by the Principal Investigator.

Completed DUA packets should be sent to [email protected].

Initial Request Packet

Submit the following to request the University enter into an agreement for access to third-party data:

DUA Initial Request Form
DUA Signature Forms from all data users subject to the agreement
The proposed Data Use Agreement and any other forms requiring a University signature
Any other relevant, data-related forms submitted to the data owner or sponsor (such as a data use application, confidentiality agreements, etc.)
An IRB determination letter (only for data connected to human subjects)
A separate Data Management Plan, if created

Modification Request Packet

Submit the following to request a modification to an existing DUA or to add data users to an existing DUA’s coverage:

DUA Modification Request Form
A list of all personnel who would have access to the data under the modified agreement
DUA Signature Forms from all new data users subject to the agreement
Copies of previously submitted forms
An updated Data Use Agreement and any other forms requiring a University signature
Any other relevant, data-related forms submitted to the data owner or sponsor (such as a data use application, confidentiality agreements, etc.)
An IRB determination letter (only for data connected to human subjects)

Additional Research Data Management Resources

The University Libraries’ Data Services unit can help you find, manage, collect and document, store and analyze, and share and preserve data.

DMPTool can help you create Data Management Plans.

Information privacy, security and expert control training is available to all UAlbany campus community members though the CITI Program. Visit the “Required Trainings” tab above to learn more about registering for optional trainings.

Genomic Data Sharing Certifications

Investigators who plan to share certain genomic data about human participants must obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and obtain a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutional Certification.

An NIH Institutional Certification — submitted by the Principal Investigator and signed by the UAlbany’s Office of Regulatory and Research Compliance (ORRC) — determines whether it is necessary to limit secondary research use.

This process ensures large-scale human genomic data submitted to an NIH-designated data repository adheres to NIH policy and any relevant laws, as well as the original study participants’ informed consent and preferences.

Review NIH’s instructions for completing an Institutional Certification Form.

Contact [email protected] with any questions.