Research Compliance

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All Long Island University faculty, staff, and students conducting research are required to have appropriate training (including continuing education every three years) in the responsible conduct of research and research ethics. This training should be completed through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) at www.citiprogram.org. The training is in the following basic areas: conflict of interest (COI), responsible conduct of research (RCR), human subjects research (HSR), and/or animal care and use (ACU).

Conflict of Interest (COI) and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) 

All LIU “investigators” involved in PHS sponsored research will be required to complete 1) Financial Conflicts of Interest; Overview, Investigator Responsibilities, and COI rules, 2) Institutional Responsibilities as they Affect Investigators, and 3) Conflicts of Commitment and Conscience. All “investigators” involved in non-PHS externally funded research will be required to complete Conflicts of Commitment and Conscience. “Investigator” is defined as any person responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of research.

Additionally, all individuals participating on NIH, NSF and USDA grants who are required to take RCR training must complete the CITI RCR basic training course. NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. NSF requires that all undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in a research project receive appropriate training and oversight in the responsible conduct of research. USDA requires Institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures.

Additional training may be required depending on the nature of research. CITI COI and RCR training is provided at no cost and must be renewed every three years.

Human Subjects Research (HSR)

All Individuals involved in human subjects research are required to complete the appropriate Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Human Subjects Research (HSR) course and the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): 

• Social-Behavioral-Educational (SBE) Researchers and Students Working with Human Subjects OR Biomedical Researchers and Students Working with Human Subjects AND
• All Learner Groups - Responsible Conduct of Research

HSR training is provided at no cost and must be renewed every three years.

Animal Care and Use (ACU)

All Long Island University faculty, staff, and students working with animals are required to have appropriate training  in animal care and use through CITI. CITI courses are designed to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) requirements for basic training in the humane care and use of animals. A minimum of four courses are required:

1. All Learner Groups - Responsible Conduct of Research
2. OSHA Personal Protective Equipment
3. Researchers - Working with the IACUC OR Students Working with Animals - Working with the IACUC
4. Specific course(s) related to the species you are working with (e.g., Working with Mice in Research)

CITI Training Requirements for Research Collaborators:

HSR or ACU Research team members not covered by another institution’s IRB or IACUC are required to complete LIU’s training. They may access the training by creating an account with CITI and selecting “Long Island University” as their affiliated institution when creating their institution profile. Individuals do not need an LIU e-mail account to affiliate with LIU through CITI. Researchers covered by another institution’s IRB have to complete their institution's required training.

Other Important Information:

Various optional modules are not included in the required courses above (e.g., courses in biosafety,). Faculty researchers may require their students and others on the research team to complete the appropriate optional modules if a particular research protocol involves these topics. The Human Subject Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee or the Institutional Animal Care and Use committee (IACUC) will notify researchers of these additional requirements on a case-by-case basis. 

A minimum passing score of 80 percent is required to meet the training requirement. You do not have to complete the courses in one sitting and may use multiple logon sessions to complete the modules. You will need to keep a record of your login information to return to the course site.

Required CITI training must be complete before new applications, amendments, annual reviews, or requests to add research team members are approved by the IRB or IACUC. 

Accessing CITI Training

Go to www.citiprogram.org. Click the "Register" button located on CITI's home page to create an account and select “Long Island University – Post” OR “Long Island University – Brooklyn” as the affiliated institution when creating your profile. There is no fee for the courses if you are affiliated with LIU. Note: We recommend that you register using your LIU email address so that your training will automatically sync to IRBManager/OSPPortal.

Steps to add a course (all users):

• After setting up the account, the Main Menu page should display.
• Click "Add a Course" under the heading My Learner Tools for Long Island University.

Steps to choose a course for research with human subjects:

• For Question 1 (Human Subjects Research), choose either "Biomedical Researchers and Students Working with Human Subjects" OR "Social-Behavioral-Educational Researchers and Students Working with Human Subjects" depending on your discipline and research design.
• For Question 2 (Responsible Conduct of Research), choose "All Learner Groups - Responsible Conduct of Research."
• For Question 8 (COVID-19), choose "No."
• Click "Submit" at the bottom.
• The Main Menu page will reappear, click the course title to access the modules.

Steps to choose a course for research with animals: