Pitt Research
Office of Research Protections

Upcoming Changes to Federal Research Security Requirements

The recent Chips and Science Act ("Chips Act") passed by Congress provides additional funding for basic science research, but also stipulates a number of new research security requirements.  Amongst these are:

  • A provision that researchers working on federally supported research programs must disclose participation in "foreign talent recruitment programs" in research award proposals.
  • A prohibition against researchers working on federal agency-funded programs participating in "malign foreign talent recruitment programs."
  • A directive for federal research agencies to establish requirements for investigators to complete research security training.

The research security provisions in the Chips Act follow those described in a presidential directive released earlier this year: National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33).

Federal funding agencies are expected to release guidance on complying with new research security requirements in the coming months.

Upcoming Visit by NSF Research Security Chief


Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy at the National Science Foundation (NSF), will be discussing evolving research security requirements during an upcoming seminar.


Date: October 10, 2022

Time: Noon

Location: William Pitt Union Lower Lounge


You may also attend the seminar virtually. Registration is required to attend virtually, and you will be provided a Zoom link in advance of the session.

Registration Link for Virtual Attendance

New Investigators: Let ORP Help You Get Started!

Understanding how committees like the IRB and IACUC work at a new institution and deciphering all the regulatory requirements can be daunting!

We have found that meetings of new investigators with representatives from relevant regulatory areas is helpful in jumpstarting their careers.   These meetings provide individualized assistance in protocol writing and regulatory compliance, and also establish a point-of-contact that is helpful in addressing questions in the future.  New investigators have indicated that such initial, personalized meetings are highly useful.

Please encourage new investigators in your department to schedule a personalized onboarding meeting by completing this survey.

Sessions to Prepare for Animal Program Accreditation


Pitt's Animal Care and Use Program has been accredited by  AAALAC International since 1983, and will undergo a triennial accreditation review this fall, likely in October.  This review will entail representatives from AAALAC International visiting animal use areas including investigator laboratories.

Please plan to attend an upcoming session to provide background for the site visit and expectations for your laboratory team.  Session presenters will be representatives from the ORP Animal Research Protection Division, Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) and the Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S).

You may attend the sessions live or virtually.

Shadyside Campus Session
Date: Monday, September 12
Site: Assembly Building (5051 Centre Ave.)
Room: Auditorium
Time: 3:00-4:00 PM
Registration Link (for Virtual Attendance)

River Campus Session
Date: Tuesday, September 13
Site: Bridgeside Point II (450 Technology Dr.)
Room: 503 Conference Room
Time: 1-2 PM
Registration Link (for Virtual Attendance)

Central Campus Session
Date: Wednesday, September 21
Site: South Biomedical Science Tower
Room: S120
Time: 2:00-3:00 PM
Registration Link (for Virtual Attendance)

 

New Guidelines for Academic Visits


Pitt welcomes academic visitors from around the world to collaborate on research and other scholarly activities on our campuses.  Our visitors add diversity of opinion and perspective to our already rich environment.  When hosting visitors, the University has an obligation to manage its resources prudently while being mindful of federal expectations surrounding protection of research results.

To that end, Pitt’s Office of Trade Compliance has improved its guidelines on hosting Academic Visitors. These improvements include easy to follow steps, administrative checklists, and a new section on Research Security that reflects the rising federal research scrutiny reflected in recent legislation and generally increasing security in the research landscape. For more on bringing visitors to campus, see Hosting Visitors | Academic Visitors and Research Security.

A New and Improved System for Managing Animal Research Protocols

The Animal Research Online (ARO) system for submitting protocols to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is over a decade old.

Although state-of-the-art at inception, ARO lacks the sophistication of the current IACUC protocol management system marketed by our software provider, Huron.  The contemporary Huron system has functionality for procedure libraries that can be imported into protocols, simplifications for data entry, tools to facilitate reviews, and many other advanced features.

In addition, Huron's latest IACUC protocol management system can be integrated with the other data management systems used at Pitt, which would facilitate the sharing of data between the systems.  Such functional integrations can reduce data entry by investigators.

For all these reasons, it is time to implement a new IACUC protocol management system, and work on the system will begin this Fall.  A faculty advisory committee has been formed to assure that the needs of animal researchers are addressed as we develop the new system.

We will keep the animal research community apprised on our progress as the new system is implemented.

Webinar: CUI, Critical Technologies & Emerging/Foundational Technologies


Date: August 31, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m.

Export compliance can quickly turn into a complicated exercise of “Who’s on first?” when other related compliance topics are introduced.  CUI, Critical Technologies, CDI and CMMC are federal terms used to describe federal programs, lists, or items that require various forms of protection for national security purposes.  There are also two new export control terms, emerging and foundational technologies, that have yet to be formally defined, but have already garnered the attention of federal security agencies and lawmakers.


In this session, the Office of Trade Compliance (OTC) will outline each of these separate compliance programs, lists, and items and explain how they intersect with export control regulations and university processes.


Register here.

ORP Support Service


Need help in ensuring that your research meets regulatory requirements and ethical standards?


Then use the ORP Support Service!


Just answer a few questions and we will put you in touch with the right professionals to help facilitate your research.

Roc the Panther

Learn More About How ORP Can Support You >

Roc the Panther

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