Research Policies & Training

The Office of Research Education (REd) provides “comprehensive training and learning opportunities and resources for faculty, students and staff engaged in responsible conduct of research at the University of Utah.”  The objectives for REd are to:

  • Offer up-to-date classes and workshops that enhance knowledge about research integrity
  • Facilitate an interactive learning environment for adult learners to apply ethical skills in decision making about current and future research endeavors
  • Provide adult learners with access to resources and tools to implement best practices across the research spectrum

Research Education Courses

The Office of Research Education offers synchronous and asynchronous classes. See more information here: https://education.research.utah.edu/red_classes/index.php

Grant Writing Portal
https://education.research.utah.edu/grant-writing-portal/index.php

Research Mentorship
https://education.research.utah.edu/research-mentoring.php

The Office of the Vice President for Research has additional research resources available: https://www.research.utah.edu/resources/

IRB

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with the review of all research projects that involve humans to ensure they comply with local, state, and federal laws, as well as the high ethical standards set forth in University policy. If you are working with human subjects in your research, you should be familiar with and compliant to IRB rules. More information here: https://irb.utah.edu.

Export Controls

There are a number of United States export laws that directly affect University research, specifically they include:

  • The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) controlled by the Department of Commerce,
  • The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) managed by the State Department
  • The sanction regulations governing the transfer of assets governed by the U.S. Department of Treasury through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

If research involves technological, biological, and chemical and military-related technologies, the government may exert control and supervision of the research and require the University to obtain a license or find and record an exception to the law before allowing foreign nationals to participate in the research, before partnering with a foreign company, or before sharing research results in any manner (including by publication or presentation at conferences) with persons who are not U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens. Licenses are not easily obtained and require careful preparation and an inordinate amount of lead-time.

More information: https://osp.utah.edu/policies/export-controls.php

Radiation Safety

Working with radiation sources at the University of Utah requires appropriate authorization, training, and oversight. All work with radiation sources must be performed under a radiation work permit which is under the jurisdiction of a Responsible Users (RU). https://rso.utah.edu

Occupational Safety

Information about general workplace and office safety, fire safety, laboratory safety, and environmental issues can be found here: https://oehs.utah.edu

Research Misconduct

See the University’s research misconduct policy here: Policy 7-001: Policy for Research Misconduct

Intellectual Property Policies

The university IP policy states that the university owns inventions, discoveries, and improvements made by faculty, staff and certain graduate students as a result of either university employment or through the use of university resources. For additional information, please refer to university policies which can be found here.

Below are links to certain University of Utah policies and guidelines for technology commercialization. Please contact TVC at (801) 581-7792 with any questions.

More information: https://tvc.utah.edu/inventor-resources/inventors-guide

Reporting Safety Issues

All injuries, incidents, accidents, unsafe conditions, and near misses must be reported to your supervisor as well as to EHS (https://oehs.utah.edu/incidentnear-miss-report).

Job-related injuries and illnesses must be reported to Workers Compensation by completing HR Form 122 (https://www.hr.utah.edu/forms/lib/E1.pdf )