Responsible Conduct of Research Training at the Medical College of Wisconsin

About Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research:

Per NIH Policy NOT-OD-10-019, Update on the Requirement for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research, the NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving research support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, dissertation research grant, or other grant programs with a training component that requires instruction in the responsible conduct of research as noted in the Funding Opportunity Announcement must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. This NIH policy is in effect for all new and renewal applications submitted on or after January 25, 2010, and for all continuation (Type 5) applications with deadlines on or after January 1, 2011. This Notice applies to all of the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R.

The Office of Research has issued corporate policy RS.GN.140, Responsible Conduct of Research Training, in compliance with the NIH requirement. 

Related notice from the NIH Office of Extramural Research: Enhancing Reproducibility Through Rigor & Transparency

 

Initial RCR Training Requirement:

MCW offers dual component training regarding the Responsible Conduct of Research. "Research Ethics Discussion," course #10444, is a face-to-face class taught by faculty of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities. 10444 is offered annually in the spring through the Graduate School and consists of nine 1.5 hour sessions. In addition to classroom instruction, an online component must also be satisfied. The web course, labeled Postdoc Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research, involves completion of eight modular lessons/quizzes administered via D2L (Desire2Learn), MCW’s web-based learning system.

10444 Course Topics

• Biomedical Research and Social Responsibility
• Codes of Research Ethics
• Overview of Human Subjects Research
• Research Using Animals
• Conducting Research: Data Collection, Sharing and Ownership
• Professionalism: Mentorship, Publication, Authorship, and Peer Review
• Conflict of Interest and Commitment
• Research Misconduct

Registration and documentation of completion of the Initial RCR Training Requirement will be completed through the Office of Research. Participation will be monitored and documentation of successful completion of the instruction will be provided to the participant upon course completion. The Office of Research will maintain all records of registration, participant attendance, and program completion.

The course is offered annually during the spring semester. Registration opens in late November/early December. Contact the Office of Research to be notified when registration opens. 

 

RCR Refresher Training Requirement:

After initial training, any student, fellow, or faculty researcher receiving support from mechanisms outlined in the NIH Policy NOT-OD-10-019 are to participate in refresher training. The Office of Postdoctoral Education will host an identified Responsible Conduct of Research Refresher Session twice annually as part of the Spotlight on Science seminar series. These seminars will consist of 1 hour of didactic content followed by 1 hour of roundtable discussion, equating to 2 contact hours of training per seminar. Attendance is required at four seminars over four years, or one seminar per year, to satisfy the eight contact hours mandated by NIH training requirements.

Refresher Training Seminar Topics:

• Transparency and Rigor in the Conduct and Reporting of Scientific Studies
• Conflict of Interest
• Policies Regarding Human Subjects
• Live Animals and Safe Laboratory Practices
• Mentor/Mentee Responsibilities and Relationships
• Collaborative Research
• Peer Review
• Data Acquisition
• Laboratory Tools, Management, Sharing and Ownership
• Research Misconduct and Policies for Handling Misconduct
• Responsible Authorship and Publication
• The Scientist as a Member of Society
• Contemporary Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research

 

MCW RCR Requirements by Career Stage:

Predoctoral Training: All predoctoral trainees, including Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) students and Master’s students, are required to take initial training is required for all students per the Graduate School curriculum. The record of training is managed by the Graduate School.

Postdoctoral Training: All postdocs are required to complete on-line RCR training within two weeks of their MCW start date. Notification and details of this training are emailed to all new postdocs by the Office of Postdoctoral Education. The on-line training involves a quiz and a 70% passing grade is required (with unlimited retakes). All postdocs must also audit the Initial RCR training course available via the Graduate School curriculum (detailed above). This training should occur at the first available offering. If such training has been satisfied at the postdoctoral level at another institution, individuals should provide documentation of their training and/or a course syllabus from that institution. After on-line and initial trainings are completed, refresher training should be ongoing for the duration of postdoctoral training. Refresher training includes 8 hours of face to face training every 4 years. This can be accomplished via RCR Spotlight on Science workshop attendance held at MCW as detailed above. The record of training is managed by the Office of Postdoctoral Education.

Early Career Investigator and Faculty Training: Investigators receiving funding under one of the following NIH programs must satisfy the Initial RCR Training Requirement: K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. Training should occur at the first available offering. Applicable investigators will be notified by the Office of Research and will be provided with instructions for training. If initial training has been satisfied at the predoctoral/postdoctoral level, individuals should provide documentation of their training and/or a course syllabus if from another institution. After initial training, refresher training should be ongoing for the duration of the grant mechanism, no less than every four years. The record of training is managed by the Office of Research.

Senior Fellow and Career Award Recipients: After initial training has been satisfied/documented, awardees of the above-mentioned programs (including F33, K02, K05 and K24) are encouraged to satisfy ongoing contact hour requirements by teaching/leading refresher training seminars.

For inquiries, please contact the Office of Research.