Tufts University Campus
About
RIC

Research Integrity and Compliance

The Research Integrity and Compliance Unit within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research provides oversight, resources, and education for integrity and compliance issues relating to the conduct of research at Tufts University. We strive to assist the Tufts community to promote excellence in research while ensuring compliance with federal, state, and location regulations, University policies, and research sponsor requirements.

What reviews apply to my research?

Please use the following tool to assess what reviews may apply to your research. It is common that more than one review by committee will be needed before you begin research. Please refer to the Boards and Committees page for more information about a specific committee and the submission process. If you are unsure if a review applies to your research, please reach out to the associated office.

If your research involves…

  • Human subjects and is social/behavioral, you should submit to the Social, Behavioral, and Educational Research (SBER) IRB for review.
     
  • Human subjects and is biomedical, you should submit to the Health Science (HS) IRB for review.
     
  • Animals for research, teaching, and training projects, you should submit to the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) for review.
     
  • Potentially biohazardous agents for research, teaching, and training projects, you should submit to the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) for review.
     
  • Chemicals, radioactive materials, or other laboratory hazards, information on laboratory safety training, and safe work practices can be found here. For research, teaching, and training-related use of high-hazard chemicals, you should submit to the Institutional Chemical Safety Committee (ICSC) for review.
     
  • Exposing participants to radiation or uses radioactive materials or radiation producing machines, you should contact the Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) and include the need for Radiation Safety Committee review in your IRB application, if applicable.
     
  • Export (i.e. transfer) of research instruments, materials (including biologics), software, technology and data sharing with a foreign entity or foreign national individual, you should email exportcontrol@tufts.edu. More information on Export Control can be found here.
     
  • If you have competing interests that could possibly create a conflict of interest, organizational and/or financial, you should submit via the Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosure Portal. More information about Conflict of Interest can be found here.
     
  • If you would like to report a research ethics concern or activities that may involve unethical or otherwise inappropriate activity or behavior in violation of Tufts University’s established policies and Business Conduct Policy, you can submit via EthicsPoint or reach out directly to Kirby Johnson at kirby.johnson@tufts.edu. Reporting via EthicsPoint is anonymous.


What training do I need?

Staying up to date on training is a key component of the responsible conduct of research. Tufts has both required and optional training for researchers. Depending on what your research involves, the training requirements may be different.

Please check with the offices that oversee your research, such as the IRB, IACUC, IBC, ICSC, or RSC to determine what training is required.

Training information can be found below: