Responsible Conduct of Research Class

Course Director: Donald S. Torry, Ph.D.
2023 Class meetings: dates/times to be determined.

The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is offered every other year at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Dr. Donald Torry, Associate Dean for Research, serves as the course director. All of the topics covered in this course are included in PHS guidelines as required training for some types of NIH-sponsored research. The course is MANDATORY for trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development awards (individual or institutional), research education grants, and dissertation research grants. SIU School of Medicine requires this course early in the tenure of all graduate students. The course is available to all other trainees (medical students, residents, clinical fellows), faculty, and staff at the School (there are no fees associated with the course). Attendees who complete the class receive a signed certificate of completion that lists all topics covered.

The class plans to meet one time per week (~9 weeks) consisting of 2-hour sessions where 2 topics are presented. The sessions are delivered in person on the Springfield campus with live WebEx options for other SIU campus attendees. Course meeting times will be scheduled to avoid conflicts with other classes/commitments of trainees as much as possible.

The Responsible Conduct of Research curriculum and discussion leaders include: 

  • Scientific Integrity, Foreign Influences, and Research Misconduct
  • Publication practices and responsible authorship
  • Policies for Human Subjects Research
  • Animal Subjects; Ethical Use and Policies
  • Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research & Social Responsibilities of Scientists
  • Research Collaborations, Including Industry and Foreign Based Collaborations
  • Responsible Data Acquisition, Management, Security and Ethical Use
  • Plagiarism, Responsible Literature Searches, and Predatory Journals
  • Conflict of Interest (personal, professional, financial) and Commitment
  • Intellectual property, confidentiality, and data ownership
  • Institutional requirements and expectations of grant submissions, accounting, and reporting
  • Mentor and trainee responsibilities
  • Peer Review Process of Grants and Manuscripts and Confidentiality
  • Safe Practices in the Laboratory
  • Reproducibility of Research Findings, Good Research Practices and Record Keeping

Contact Alexis Gage if interested in attending