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Research Compliance Training

Find links to required and recommended training for researchers and research support staff.

To help researchers understand and comply with applicable federal, state, local and university regulations, UC San Diego offers a variety of online and in-person training opportunities. This page contains a list of required and recommended trainings for researchers and research support staff. Please click on a category below to browse the research compliance training catalog:

General

On Being a Scientist: Third Edition

Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine.

Animal Research

Required Training Who must complete training?

Orientation to Animal Research at UCSD

Triennial Online Refresher

Breeding Colony Basics*

Anesthesia & Surgery in Large Animals*

Anesthesia & Surgery in Small Animals*

All who work with animals and are the Principal Investigators (PI) or a participant on an Animal Use Protocol.

Additionally, all protocol personnel including PIs are required to complete the Triennial Online Refresher every three years which coincides with the year of UCSD's AAALAC accreditation site visit.

*Additional training may be required by IACUC depending on species & procedures used.

Recommended Training Who might want to take the training?
Wet Labs

Hands-on technical training may be provided upon request. Please send an email to acp-training@ucsd.edu to request this service.

Conflict of Interest

Required Training Who must complete the training?
UC San Diego Employee's Mandatory COI Training

All Investigators and senior/key personnel are required to take PHS-compliant training prior to engaging in PHS-funded research for new awards and at least every four years while engaging in PHS-funded research. Training is also required immediately if an Investigator or senior/key personnel is new to the institution, if the UC policies change in a way that affects Investigator and senior/key personnel requirements or if UC finds that an Investigator or senior/key personnel is noncompliant with any policy or management plan. This training requirement also applies for those funding agencies that have adopted the PHS FCOI regulations.

On October 4, 2021, the University of California launched an online Ethics and Compliance Briefing for Researchers.  The Ethics and Compliance Briefing satisfies two mandatory training requirements, the UC training requirement that all researchers be trained periodically to recognize and deal with ethical issues and conflict of interest situations that may arise during their work, as well as the Conflict of Interest training requirement by the National Institutes of Health. 

University employees (mandated and identified by the UC Office of Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services) who received a portion of their salary from extramural funding sources are required by UC Office of the President (UCOP) to complete the UC Ethics and Compliance Briefing for Researchers (ECBR).

The course is available online through the UC Learning Center and was developed by the UC Office of Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services by UCOP. It was designed to raise awareness of the University of California Statement of Ethical Values and Standards of Ethical Conduct and to convey important information about conflict of interest (COI) regulations when accepting extramural research funds. In addition, this briefing satisfies the PHS FCOI training requirement.

All identified UC San Diego employees received an email from the UC Learning Center with a link to the online training. You can also search Blink – Personal Tools to access the UC Learning Center once you log in with your single sign-on the "Ethics and Compliance Briefing for Researcher (ECBR)," training will be listed in your “To Do List/Assigned Training” to access the Briefing click the course. 

If you have any questions regarding the requirement to complete this course, email info-coi@ucsd.edu.

Environment, Health, and Safety

Required Training Who must complete training?

Biosafety Training

All laboratory workers* prior to beginning work with  human blood, human blood components, products made from human blood, human body fluids, unfixed human tissue or organs, human cell lines, animals with human xenografts, blood borne pathogens, or other potentially infectious materials.

*Medical Center health care providers have location specific training.  Contact the Medical Center Safety Office, (619) 543-7575, for more information.

Personnel who plan to use recombinant or synthetic nucleic acids as part of their research.

Iodine Safety

Contact the  EH&S Radiation Safety health physicist assigned to building to schedule

All who perform iodinations

Injury and Illness Prevention Program

All non-laboratory employees including staff, faculty, students, visitors and those receiving financial compensation (stipends excluded) from the University

Laboratory Safety Training

All laboratory personnel before beginning work in UCSD laboratory facilities 

These courses are designed for labs where hazards are present or hazardous chemical waste is generated.

Annual Laboratory Hazards Training is required to be completed annually and UC Laboratory Safety Fundamentals every 3 years.

Laser Safety Training>

All who work with class 3b or 4 lasers or laser systems

Laser safety training is required of laser operators and maintenance service personnel. Laser safety training is recommended for personnel working with class 1, 2, and 3a laser systems containing embedded class 3b or 4 lasers.

Radiation Safety Training

All using radioactive materials

Controlled Substances Training

All who work with controlled substances

This course provides information on compliance with institutional and regulatory standards pertaining to controlled substances.

Air-Purifying Respirator

All using an air-purifying respirator during the course of their job duties.

New Principal Investigator (PI) Orientation

Contact the EH&S Research Assistance Program manager to schedule

All new or visiting PIs before they may operate any lab facility, or direct or supervise any employee with any lab facility.
DEXA for Human Use All who perform DEXA scans on humans
Veterinary DEXA All who perform DEXA scans on animals
Veterinary Fluoroscopy All who use fluoroscopic machines with animals
Veterinary Radiography All who use static x-ray machines with animals

Radiography – Industrial

Contact the EH&S Radiation Safety Health Physicist assigned to building to schedule

All who will use x-ray machines to perform industrial radiography
Recommended Training Who might want to take training?

Area Safety Coordinator Orientation

Contact EH&S Research Assistance Program manager to schedule
See UCSD Blink: What Area Safety Coordinators Need to Know.

Recommended for those who oversee safety & compliance in a UCSD research facility

Assessing Chemical Hazards

Contact the EH&S Chemical Hygiene Officer to schedule

Recommended for those who work with chemicals

Laboratory Ergonomics

Recommended for researchers whose work involves prolonged periods of pipetting, microscopy work, dissection, or other repetitive procedures

Radiation: Liquid Scintillation Counting Methods

Contact the EH&S Radiation Safety Health Physicist assigned to building to schedule

Recommended for anyone working with liquid scintillation counters

Export Control

Recommended Training Who might want to take the training?

University Export Controls (login required)

This training provides a basic overview of export controls regulations and licensing requirements that apply to researchers, staff and students at UCSD. Learn about license exceptions such as the fundamental research exclusion and its limitations to certain export transactions.

Recommended for researchers, staff and students at UCSD.

Traveling Abroad  (login required)

Export controls apply to travel abroad to sanctioned countries, includes hand carrying research equipment abroad. 

This training is recommended for anyone traveling abroad.

International Shipping Overview (login required)

This training provides an overview of the legal requirements for international shipping, including import and export requirements that impact shipments for UCSD. This video provides a good introduction for those involved with international shipping.

Recommended for anyone involved with international shipping.

International Shipping Documentation (login required)

This training includes US government and foreign customs documentation requirements for international shipments such as documents, terminology and import/export requirements.

Recommended for individuals involved in collecting information or preparing documents for international shipping.

ITAR (login required)

The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulates military controlled items on the US Munitions List and requires export licensing and foreign national access control requirements for items controlled by ITAR. 

Recommended for anyone participating in DOD funded research, collaborating with defense contractors or those that have ITAR controlled equipment or technical data.

Export Control for Restricted Parties (login required)

This video provides an overview of Restricted Party and Sanctions Screening and answers the “what, when and how” regarding the responsibility of researchers to screen all potential collaborations, awards, agreements and financial transactions with foreign entities or persons against US government watch lists.

Recommended for researchers, staff and students at UCSD.

Export Control for Temporary Exports (login required)

This video provides information about Temporary Exports (exported goods which will return to the U.S. within (1) year) including the various ways to ship or hand-carry goods internationally and the trade, duty and tax implications and exemptions of the various methods.  It also covers required Electronic Export Information filing (EEI) for Temporary Exports.

Recommended for researchers, staff and students at UCSD.

Foreign National Export Control Considerations (login required)

This video provides information about what qualifies as an export (disclosures of “controlled” technical data or technology, whether written, oral or visual to a “foreign person” in the U.S. or abroad) and how to know when an export license is required.  It also provides an overview of Fundamental Research Exemptions (FREs) and the conditions under which they may or may not apply to your export.

Recommended for researchers, staff and students at UCSD.

OFAC (login required)

The Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) list of sanctioned countries includes: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan.

Recommended for anyone involved with travel, collaboration and import/export involving these countries is recommended to take this training. 

Biological Agents (login required)

This training details export licensing requirements for certain biological and genomic materials.

UC Webinar: Biological and Chemical Export Controls That Impact University Research: What You Need to Know from April 30, 2014. This webinar provides detailed information on export controls on biologicals and chemicals and associated equipment.

Recommended for anyone working with biological agents with international collaborations.

Biosafety: Dual Use of Research Concern (login required)

This course is intended for personnel conducting life sciences research with one or more of the listed DURC agents, and satisfies the training requirement under the United States Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern.

Recommended for researchers working with DURC agents.

Restricted Party Screening (login required)

The U.S. government restricts collaborating with or shipping to certain individuals or organizations. In this video you will learn what a restricted party is, when to screen for them, and how the screening is done here at UC San Diego in order to maintain compliance with United States Export Control Regulations.

Recommended for researchers, staff and students at UCSD.

UCSD Export Control is available to present customized training for your laboratory or department on request. Contact export@ucsd.edu with your training request.

Good Clinical Practices for NIH Funded Clinical Trials

Required Training Who must complete the training? When and how often must the training be completed?

NIH issued a policy, effective January 1, 2017, establishing the requirement that all investigators and staff involved in the conduct, oversight, or management of NIH funded clinical trials must be trained in Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

For additional information, see the NIH policy (Notice Number NOT-OD-16-148) and FAQ.

GCP training can be completed through the CITI program.

All investigators and staff involved in the conduct, oversight, or management of NIH funded clinical trials.

All responsible parties should complete their GCP training before their involvement in the clinical trial.

NIH requires that GCP training be renewed at least every 3 year.

For questions on the UC San Diego implementation process, see the Research Compliance and Integrity website or contact Research Compliance and Integrity at rci@ucsd.edu, (858) 822-4939.

Human Subjects Research

Required Training Who must complete the training?
  1. Biomedical Research
  2. Social and Behavioral Research

Principal Investigators and Key Personnel conducting human subjects research.

For questions about Office of IRB Administration training requirements, please see the guidance here.

  • CITI Research Privacy training:
  1. Health Privacy Issues for Researchers
  2. Basics for Health Privacy

 

Researchers who potentially use Protected Health Information (PHI) or related data.
For questions about the Office of Compliance and Privacy's HIPAA training requirements for researchers, please email hscomply@health.ucsd.edu

Office of Contract and Grant Administration

Office of Innovation and Commercialization

Recommended Training
Who might want to take the training?
Patents & Patent Searching: Log in to the UC Learning Center with your Business Systems ID.

UCSD faculty and staff who would like to learn about the patenting process and how to search for patents on the web

Patent Rights, Agreements and Releases

All who work with intellectual property agreements

Intellectual Property Essentials for Academic Researchers

UCSD faculty and staff who are involved in the intellectual property process

Office of Sponsored Projects Research

Recommended Training Who might want to take the training?
Effort Reporting:  ECERT Basics

Fiscal administrators, fund managers, and Principal Investigators who manage funding for federally sponsored projects.

Effort Reporting: ECERT Learning Lab

Fiscal administrators, fund managers, and Principal Investigators who manage funding for federally sponsored projects.

* Contact Deston Halverson at OSPR by e-mail at dehalverson@ucsd.edu to obtain specific course information

Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs

Postdoctoral training is a fundamental component of career success across many academic disciplines and is vital to many scholars as a basic requirement for progression into academic or non-academic careers.  For information on Postdoctoral Scholar training, please see the Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs.

Research Administration Training Program

The purpose of this program is to create a comprehensive enterprise-wide research administration educational certification program that establishes and maintains individual and organizational learning and knowledge about research administration topics, programs and systems. For additional information, please see the Research Administration Training Program information.

Research Compliance Hot Topics and Training Program

The Research Compliance and Integrity (RCI) Office provides the Research Compliance Hot Topics and Training Program (Program) as a resource for all UC San Diego faculty, staff and students.  The Program offers training through a variety of forums, including workshops, videos, newsletters and other activities, and is designed to serve as an educational resource to assist the UC San Diego research community with the complexities of conducting research.  Please go to our Hot Topics and Training Blink page for a list of upcoming and past sessions.

Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible Conduct of Research Training at UC San Diego

UC San Diego and its research community are responsible for fostering research that is performed in an ethical and responsible manner. Responsible conduct of research (RCR) training promotes awareness and application of ethical principles and standards in all aspects of research.  Depending on the research funding source, the specific RCR requirements may vary. In addition to some departmental requirement for RCR training, the primary requirements for RCR training are set by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

To learn more about UC San Diego's Institutional Plan for the Responsible Conduct of Research, see Research Compliance and Integrity.

National Institute of Health (NIH)

Requirement – NIH requires that all trainees and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development (individual or institutional), research education or dissertation research grant, must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research.  Substantial face-to-face discussions among the participating trainees, a combination of didactic and small-group discussions (e.g. case studies), and participation of research faculty members are highly encouraged. Online courses can be incorporated into training, provided they are used to foster discussion, active learning, and engagement. Online instruction, by itself, is considered insufficient to meet the NIH RCR training requirement outlined by updated guidance NOT-OD-22-055, and guidance of NOT-OD-10-019, which remains in place. 

Training Options:

  • Undergraduate Students
    • On request, the Research Ethics Program will provide, or advise on developing, cost effective training options.
  • Graduate Students
  • Postdoctoral Scholars
  • Customizable Department Courses
    • Departments are encouraged to develop their own RCR training plans in consultation with the Research Ethics Program to ensure their plans meet the format and content requirements of NIH. The Research Ethics Program can assist in setting goals, selecting topics to be covered, identifying useful approaches for teaching and learning, and assessing outcomes, as well as offering ‘Train the Trainer Workshops.’
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Requirement – NSF requires that all faculty and senior personnel (i.e., principal investigators, co-investigators, and other academic appointees), undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF receive appropriate training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research.

Training Options:

  • Undergraduate Students
    • RCR training is integrated into the online Integrity Tutorial that all undergraduates must take prior to enrolling in their second quarter. Completion of this course is automatically tracked by Canvas; students who do not complete before the end of their first quarter will have a hold on their account prohibiting them from continuing into their second quarter. Departments are encouraged to include undergraduate students in additional training opportunities appropriate to their level of participation in research.
  • Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

Requirement – NIFA requires all participants including all program directors, faculty, undergraduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and any staff participating in the project receive appropriate training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research.

Training Options:

  • Undergraduate Students
    • RCR training is integrated into the online Integrity Tutorial that all undergraduates must take prior to enrolling in their second quarter. Completion of this course is automatically tracked by Canvas; students who do not complete before the end of their first quarter will have a hold on their account prohibiting them from continuing into their second quarter. Departments are encouraged to include undergraduate students in additional training opportunities appropriate to their level of participation in research.
  • Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

Regardless of the funding, Departments are responsible for tracking the completion of training requirements associated with extramural awards. For further information on training resources, including Train-the-Trainer Workshops, customized departmental programs and the Research Ethics Program Core, please contact the UC San Diego Research Ethics Program at (858) 822-2647 or ethics@ucsd.edu

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Research Compliance and Integrity Office at (858) 822-4939 or rci@ucsd.edu.

For more information, contact the Research Compliance and Integrity Office at (858) 822-4939.