Activities defined as "under the auspices of the University" include activities conducted as part of University employment, as part of course credit or fulfillment of a degree requirement, activities involving use of University resources, or involving publication that credits University affiliation.

Research Compliance Officer
The Research Compliance Officer is the resource person on research compliance matters for the University community and coordinates all such compliance activities for the University. Principal investigators are encouraged to consult with the Research Compliance Officer at the planning stages of research to determine if any regulations or safety policies apply to their research and what steps must be taken to comply with them. Please contact the Division of Sponsored Research and Training at (305) 348-2494.

Research Requiring Compliance Review
Regulation and safety policies apply to many different categories of research. Regulations and standards change frequently and University policy requires review of research activities that a principal investigator may not have consider as requiring review. EH&S recommends that researchers contact the Research Compliance Office for assistance.

Human Participants
University policy seeks to ensure that the rights and welfare of human subjects are adequately protected in research conducted under its auspices. In addition, federal and state laws and regulations require these protections. In order for the University to fulfill its responsibility and to comply with the law and regulations, all human subjects research conducted under University auspices must receive appropriate review and approval.

Animal Subjects
It is the policy of the University to establish, implement, and maintain proper measures of ensuring the appropriate care and use of all animals involved in research, research training, or other educational activities conducted under the auspices of the University.

Responsible Conduct
The Research Compliance Officer is responsible for the establishment of policies and procedures for the review, inquiry, or investigation of all allegations of misconduct in all research conducted under the auspices of the University.

Controlled Substances in Research
The Controlled Substance Safety Officer (x70289) establishes policy and maintains oversight over the use of controlled substances in all research conducted under the auspices of the University.

Hazardous Materials
There are four major areas of concern: toxic chemicals, chemical carcinogens, highly flammable materials and infectious agents. Various State and Federal regulations are involved with each category, and each requires different responses and compliance standards. Any investigator considering the utilization/disposal of such materials should contact the Lab Safety Compliance Officer, the Fire Safety Officer or the Biosafety Officer at (305) 348-262,1 before beginning any research.

Potential Health Hazards
The following policy encompasses all activity at FIU :

1.    It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator/Instructor to inform all individuals using or exposed to toxic substances, animals which are a biohazard, or hazards associated with experiments involving sensory stress, of the possible consequences of their use or exposure to them. The publications of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or similar agencies will serve as sources for identifying toxic chemicals and reagents. It is the obligation of the individual(s) doing the research to report all instances of toxic contamination, or suspicion of contamination or injury of any sort, to the Principal Investigator/Instructor , who will inform the Director of Environmental Health & Safety.

2.    Any individual who becomes ill and believes it is related to a research effort should inform the Principal Investigator/Instructor  and contact the Human Resources office, Workers Compensation section at x73273. If the individual's own physician is consulted, the Human Resources office, Workers Compensation section must be notified of the visit if it is suspected that the condition may have resulted from research activity.

3.   Notification of a any injury or suspect exposure must be provided to the Director, Environmental Health & Safety, by the direct supervisor of the injured researcher.

4.    The Director, Environmental Health & Safety will  investigate the conditions and occurrences related to the reported injury. A report of findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Vice President for Research and to the Principal Investigator / Instructor. The responsibility for corrective actions rests with the direct supervisor of the injured individual.

Radioactive Material
All research involving radioactive materials or machines and equipment that emit ionizing radiation must receive approval from the Radiation Safety Committee for the purchase, possession, use, transportation, and disposal of such material or equipment. Application forms are available from the Radiation Safety Officer (x70289). Since approval of a protocol usually takes at least two weeks from the receipt of an application, the Investigator should consider this timeframe in planning the research.

The procedures involved in purchasing, possessing, using, transporting and disposing of radioactive material are detailed in the University manual, "FIU Radiation Control Manual." Investigators are advised to consult this manual when planning to use radioactive materials. Copies are available from the Radiation Safety Officer, who is also available to answer questions concerning research involving radioactive material.

Recombinant DNA
Florida International University is in the process of establishing a  program to conduct research involving the use of  Recombinant DNA (RDNA). Application for approval from the National Institutes of Health and the Florida State Department of Health are being processed. Responsibility for the review and approval of research involving RDNA will rest with the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), which will be formalized by July 2004.

Although state and federal regulations exempt some RDNA research from prior review and approval, the criteria for deciding whether prior review is necessary are somewhat complex, therefore all researchers conducting any type of RDNA research will be required to inform the IBC about the nature of the experiments they are conducting, even if they are considered exempt from regulations.