Office for Research

We are alerting you to a new federal training requirement for research funded by certain U.S. federal agencies requiring Covered Individuals submitting federal or federal passthrough proposals to certify that they have completed a training on Research Security as a condition for submitting the proposal starting May 1, 2025.   

After May 1st, 2025, you will not be able to submit a federal proposal to DoE, either directly or as a passthrough with prime contractor, without proof of training completion. Other Federal funding agencies will be following DoE’s lead in the coming months.

Persons Who Must Take the Training:  Covered Individuals are persons who:

• Contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of a research and development project proposed to be carried out with a research and development award from a Federal research agency; and
• Are designated as a Covered Individual by the Federal research agency, e.g. principal investigators (PIs) and other senior/key personnel seeking or receiving Federal research and development funding (i.e., extramural funding). 

Required CITI Training modules:

• Research Security (Combined)

How to add this training requirement in CITI:

1. Log into your CITI Program account
2. Select “View Courses” (blue button) under the Institutional Courses section
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Add a Course”
4. Go to Question 11 and select “Research Security Training (Combined)”
5. Then hit “Submit” at the bottom of the page
6. The training should now show up on your “View Courses” page

 For further updates and announcements on this Research Security Training Requirement, please visit the Export Controls webpage.

Must complete the following Conflicts of Interest (COI) CITI course:

• COI: Conflicts of Interest Basic

Starting July 31, 2023, the NSF will require all PIs, co-PIs, and other senior personnel listed on NSF grants, along with post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate who are paid from NSF grants, to complete Responsible & Ethical Conduct of Research training (RECR).

Must complete one of the following Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) CITI courses (choose most relevant field):

• Biomedical
• Engineering
• Physical Sciences
• Humanities
• Social and Behavioral

Instructions for creating a Rensselaer‐affiliated CITI account and completing the RCR course

Strongly encouraged to complete one of the following Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) CITI courses (choose most relevant field):

• Biomedical
• Engineering
• Physical Sciences
• Humanities
• Social and Behavioral

Note: The Office of Graduate Education requires all graduate students to complete the RCR training prior to candidacy.

Instructions for creating a Rensselaer‐affiliated CITI account and completing the RCR course
 

Must complete one of the following Human Subject Research (IRB) CITI courses (choose most relevant field):

• IRB: Human Subject Research (Biomedical)
• IRB: Human Subject Research (Social and Behavioral)

Instructions for creating a Rensselaer‐affiliated CITI account and completing the HSR course

Must complete one of the following Human Subject Research (IRB) CITI course:

• IRB: Human Subject Research

Instructions for creating a Rensselaer‐affiliated CITI account and completing the HSR course

Must complete the following Animal Care and Use (IACUC) CITI course:

• IACUC:  Animal Care and Use (Investigators, Staff, Students) CITI course

Must complete any of the following modules that apply:

• IACUC: Aseptic Surgery for Non-Rodent Species
• IACUC: Reducing Pain and Distress in Mice and Rats
• IACUC: Research with Wildlife
• IACUC: Research  with Amphibians
• IACUC: Research  with Horses
• IACUC: Research  with Mice
• IACUC: Research  with Rabbits
• IACUC: Research  with Rats

Must initially complete the following trainings

Precipio:

“Laboratory Safety at Rensselaer: 1.0”

“Biosafety Procedures at Rensselaer”

CITI program:

“NIH Recombinant DNA Guidelines”

If you work with human cells, infectious agents, or biologically-derived toxins, you must also complete “OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens”.

The above trainings are good for 4 years, after which you can renew your training by taking the CITI program training entitled “Initial Biosafety Training”

Must complete the following Information Privacy and Security (IPC) CITI course:

• IRB: HIPAA and Health Privacy for Human Subject Research (ID: 94023)

A “yes” answer to any of the following questions indicates that the research, information to be released or research tool to be used might be subject to export controls and should be reviewed by the Export Control Office. It is also highly recommended that researchers take CITI training course entitled Export Control Compliance for Researchers

• Research that involves export restricted science and engineering areas including defense articles or services, missiles, chemical & biological weapons, nuclear technology, work with designated select agents, high performance computing, and encryption technology.
• Research that involves the use of controlled unclassified information (CUI), export controlled information, items, or technology (e.g., export restricted information, controlled IR cameras, government controlled data, or technology received from outside the university).
• Research that involves the transfer of project information, equipment, materials, or receive financial support from sources outside of the U.S. (e.g., sending project deliverables or providing funding via a subcontract)
• Any part of the research will take place outside the U.S. or will include international travel (e.g., field work outside the U.S., attending an international conference to present results, or providing professional services)
• Research that involves foreign individuals as faculty, visiting scientists or collaborator(s), or other foreign entities (e.g., Non-U.S. Company, university, or other organization).
• “Foreign Person” graduate students, trainees, or other Rensselaer employees that will be or are involved in the research and the research has not yet been determined to be Fundamental Research by the federal government awarding agency or RPI’s Export Control Office.
• Uncertain of the technology developed, discovered (born) during the course of the research project.