Training Requirements, Research Compliance, and ORCID iD
Complete the following steps before participating in any research or scholarly activity to ensure compliance with Heritage College and Ohio University requirements.
Medical Student Research Project/Scholarly Activity Registration
Heritage College Policy 2.22 requires all medical students to conduct research and scholarly activities under a mentor's direction and register these activities with the Office of Research and Grants through Salesforce. Students must ensure all requirements are met before starting any research or scholarly activity.
Project Registration Instructions
Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) Information:
Only research projects and dissemination activities entered in Salesforce prior to May 31st of the year prior to graduation will be considered. Details about eligible activities for Research Distinction on the MSPE can be found here.
Annual Research Compliance Attestation
All Heritage College students are required to complete the Annual Research Compliance Attestation each academic year, regardless of whether you plan to participate in research or scholarly activity. This requirement ensures awareness of essential research compliance expectations and supports a culture of integrity and ethical responsibility across the college.
Research Attestation Information
Required Training
CITI Program Training
- Human Subjects (required for IRB) – Typically must be updated every three years (Please note that students conducting research projects involving animal subjects will also be required to complete Animal (required for IACUC) training.)
- Responsible Conduct for Research training – May need to be updated every two years (Note: Some courses do not have an expiration date.)
- Conflict of Interest training – Typically must be updated every four years
- Good Clinical Practice course – May need to be updated every two to four years (Note: Some courses do not have an expiration date.)
NOTE: Additional trainings may be required based on your project or by the research site.
Vector HIPAA Training
- Medical students will receive annual notification to update.
All training must be completed prior to participation in research or scholarly activities.
Research Compliance and Approvals
IRB/IACUC Requirements:
Projects involving human subjects, protected health information (PHI), or animals require review. Students must obtain appropriate approvals before engaging in research:
- Approval from the research site (if outside Ohio University)
- Approval or deferral from Ohio University Office of Research Compliance
- For external projects, medical students are required to submit a deferral request to the Ohio University Office of Research Compliance through the Cayuse for research studies that involve human subjects or protected health information (PHI) or animals and have been reviewed by the research site (if outside of Ohio University) IRB or IACUC. Additional information can be found on the Ohio University Cayuse Human Ethics (IRB) or IACUC web pages.
- Students must request access to the Cayuse system before logging in for the first time.
Basic Instructions for IRB Deferral Request in Cayuse:
- Log Into Cayuse.
- Under Products (upper right corner of the screen), Select Human Ethics.
- Click New Study (right corner of the screen).
- Enter the Study Title and Click Checkmark.
- Click New Submission - Inital (right corner of the screen).
- Under Required Tasks (right side of the screen), Select Assign PI and Complete All Fields. Do not list any external researchers on the deferral request. The PI should be the person submitting the form, or if multiple OHIO researchers are being listed, the PI should be the person who will assume the lead role. If additional OHIO researchers need to request a deferral for the same study, this can be done via a modification request; a new deferral is not needed. Please note that once you select Yes to the question related to whether or not the project involves human subjects, Section 2, Reviewing IRB, will open on the left side of your screen. This is where you will indicate whether you are submitting a deferral request or submitting to an OHIO IRB.
- Once the form is fully completed, you can Save or Submit.
- Remember that additional fields will open depending on the answers to many questions throughout the form.
Instructions for IACUC Deferral Request in Cayuse:
Special Note (OhioHealth)
- All protocols involving a Heritage College student must be submitted through SmartIRB, and then, should OhioHealth be determined to be the IRB of record, a deferral is to be requested through the Ohio University IRB Human Subjects module in Cayuse. For more information, please contact your mentor and/or the OhioHealth Research Institute.
Information and resources can be found at Ohio University Office of Research Compliance or by emailing compliance@ohio.edu.
ORCiD Requirement
All students must obtain and submit an ORCiD.
- ORCiD provides a unique digital identifier that links your research activities, publications, and professional information.
- Ohio University Libraries has created a short educational video on the importance of ORCiD profiles.
- Medical students are required to submit their ORCiD to the Office of Research and Grants (ORG). ORG will add this information to Salesforce.