Conflicts of interest (COI)

What happens if someone who is participating in a Research Project funded by the PHS/NIH does not comply with the Conflicts of Interest & Commitment Policy?

In accord with PHS/NIH policy (42 CFR § 50.605(3)), a retrospective review will be conducted if the Office for Responsible Outside Interests determines that an Investigator participating in any University project funded by the PHS/NIH (excluding Phase I SBIR/STTR grants) has not (a) complied with this Policy; or (b) complied with a required FCOI management plan; or (c) disclosed a SFI or SPI in a timely manner to allow appropriate review and management. Consistent with PHS/NIH grants policy 42 CFR § 50.606(c), “in any case in which a determination is made that a PHS/NIH-funded project of clinical research whose purpose is to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of a drug, medical device, or treatment has been designed, conducted, or reported by an Investigator with an FCOI that was not managed or reported by the Institution as required, the Investigator will be required to disclose the FCOI in each public presentation of the results of the research and to request an addendum to previously published presentations.”

Does the public have access to conflict of interest information?

For Research Projects funded by PHS/NIH agencies, excluding Phase I SBIR/STTR grants, the University is required to respond within five (5) business days of receipt of a written request from a member of the public for information regarding determination of an FCOI of senior/key personnel for the funded project. Such public requests must comply with the requirements of 42 CFR § 50.605(a)(5) and 45 CFR § 94.5(a)(5) of the NIH grants policy.

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-509, all disclosures of Substantial Interests, as defined by A.R.S. § 38-502, are available for public inspection.

What is Scientific Overlap?

NIH describes Scientific Overlap as: "Scientific Overlap occurs when substantially similar research is proposed in more than one application or is submitted to two or more different funding sources for review and funding consideration; or a specific research objective and the experimental design for accomplishing that objective are the same or closely related in two or more applications or awards, regardless of funding source."

eIRB and eDisclosure Unavailable April 21-23

1 year 11 months ago

The Research, Innovation & Impact Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) will implement upgrades to the electronic Institutional Review Board (eIRB) system to provide the latest features and maintain quality performance.

This upgrade will cause the eIRB and eDisclosure systems to be unavailable beginning 8 a.m., Friday, April 21 through 8 a.m., Monday, April 24.

eIRB

  • During the upgrade period, eIRB review and approval will be unavailable.
  • Submissions to the eIRB should be processed before 8 a.m., Friday, April 21, or after 8 a.m., Monday, April 24.
  •  
  • For urgent eIRB matters and just-in-time (JIT) requests that arise during this window: email Christine Melton-Lopez, director HSPP. 
  • For questions or more information: email the HSPP team.

eDisclosure

  • During the upgrade period, individuals will be unable to disclose Outside Interests, Outside Activity and Substantial Interests. Individuals will not be able to submit Research Certifications and Outside Activity approval will not be available.
  • Conflict of Interest (COI) at Proposal Submission: for federal and sub-federal proposals due on or before Wednesday, April 26, investigators are encouraged to complete annual disclosures before 6 p.m., Thursday, April 20.
  • For routing proposals received during the upgrade period, the Office for Responsible Outside Interests (OROI) will rely on data from Thursday, April 20. Beginning 8 a.m., Monday, April 24, OROI will return to using live data.
  • UAccess Analytics dashboards: the eDisclosure Conflict of Interest dashboards will reflect data from Thursday, April 20 until Tuesday, April 25.

 

What are the Conflict of Interest requirements for Investigators?

Investigators must:

1.    Complete the Required COI Disclosure Training after July 1, 2021.
2.    Complete the Required COI Disclosure Training once every 4 years thereafter.
Note:  OROI may direct an Investigator to complete the training more frequently.
3.    Submit an annual certification.  This can be an Annual Disclosure Certification or Research Certification.
4.    Update their certification within 30 days of a change to an existing Outside Interest.
5.    Update their certification within 30 days of acquiring a new Outside Interest.
6.    Submit a Research Certification for all non-sponsored and sponsored Research.