Marshall University   

Huntington, WV

SUBJECT:  Definition of Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators

 

RATIONALE:  The intent of this policy is to ensure the protection of human subjects participating in research by permitting only those individuals who have the proper research credentials to direct and supervise research involving human subjects. 

 

POLICY:  Marshall University allows individuals with the proper research credentials to direct research involving human subjects by granting them Principal Investigator (PI) status.  The institution has defined PIs as:     

 

Full-Time or part-time faculty members who have been granted any of the following titles:

• Probationary or tenured faculty (full, associate, assistant professors, or instructor)
• Temporary faculty designated as visiting, research, clinical, extension, adjunct, or school of medicine that have a terminal degree and appropriate research credentials.
• emeritus faculty
• post-doctoral fellows (A regular faculty member must be named on the project as being responsible for seeing that the terms of the grant or contract are fulfilled.)

Persons holding the following non-academic titles may serve as Principal Investigators on projects directly related to the mission and responsibility of their offices:

• Director, Associate Director, Assistant Director

 

Undergraduate and Graduate students and students in any professional program at Marshall University are not eligible to serve as PIs.

 

Research projects that involve an outside agency may have restrictions that are more stringent than this Marshall University policy.  In this case, the sponsor’s requirements will take precedence over institutional policy for that project.  For St. Mary’s Medical Center, Cabell Huntington Hospital, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the WV Division of Criminal Justice Services, their specific Human Research Protection Program Policy will determine who can serve as a PI at their institutions.

 

DEFINITIONS:  The definitions and responsibilities of the PI and Co-investigator can be found at:

http://www.marshall.edu/research/ori/sop/TypesofResearchandTypesofReviews.htm

 

STUDENT INITIATED PROJECTS:  For student-initiated projects, several conditions apply:

1. A full time faculty member, as identified under policy, must serve as the Faculty Advisor.
2. The Faculty Advisor will be required to manage the responsibilities as the PI under this policy.
3. The student will be responsible for contributing to the project under the guidance of the Faculty Advisor.
4. The student may be named as a Co-Investigator as long as the PI is still named as the responsible individual.  The student should receive the appropriate acknowledgement.

 

Follow Up Responsibility:  Director, Office of Research Integrity

 

 

Revised 5-1-2007