June 2026 Newsletter
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Stay up-to-date with the latest news and resources from the Office of Research Protections (ORP)
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Cite Federal Grants in Publications Accurately, Not Broadly
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Federal funding agencies require investigators to acknowledge their support in any publication or communication describing federally funded work. Just as important, agencies expect that grants be cited only where they belong.
Attributing a publication to an award that did not support the described work runs counter to federal policy and can invite compliance scrutiny.
NIH applies a two-part test: a grant should be acknowledged only when the work directly arose from that award and falls within the award's scope. For example, citing a grant funded for bench or animal studies on a human subjects publication would likely fall outside the award's scope and constitute improper attribution.
Agencies have been paying closer attention to whether the grants cited on a given publication actually supported that work. Over-citation gives agencies an inaccurate picture of what their funds are supporting.
The simple rule: Only cite awards on publications that directly arise from funded work and fall within its scope.
For Pitt-specific guidance, including the questions to ask before citing an award, see the Office of Sponsored Programs' page, "When should an NIH grant be cited in a publication?"
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In NOT-OD-26-084, NIH reminded investigators that a foreign component is the performance of any significant scientific element of a project outside the U.S., whether or not grant funds are spent.
Activities that may require the agency's prior approval include:
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Involvement of human subjects or animals at a foreign site (including services from a contract research organization outside the U.S.);
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Collaborations with investigators at a foreign site expected to result in co-authorship;
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Use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site; and
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Receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity.
NIH notes that most co-authorship with a foreign collaborator represents a foreign component. An investigator contributing to your federally funded research at a foreign site — for example, through data analysis — generally requires advance agency approval even when no funds change hands.
When a foreign collaborator visits Pitt and contributes to work in your lab, that work should be attributed to the University, not to the visitor's home institution. NIH also reminds investigators to list affiliations that reflect where the funded work was actually performed.
For guidance on submitting a prior approval request to add a foreign component, see this page.
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On June 8, 2026, the Department of Defense (DOD) significantly expanded its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies operating directly or indirectly in the United States, bringing the list to 188 entities.
Several companies used by Pitt investigators now appear on the updated list, including Alibaba, Novogene, WuXi AppTec, TP-Link Technologies, and BGI Group, including BGI Americas Corporation and Complete Genomics. The DoD restrictions also extend to entities subject to the control of listed companies, which may include U.S. operations or affiliates of listed parent entities.
According to DOD’s Decision Matrix, grantees cannot use DOD funds to transact with or use any equipment from an entity appearing on a “Prohibited Entity List” including the 1260H list. Furthermore, under Section 805 of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), beginning June 30, 2026, DOD funds may not be used to procure goods, services, or technology from entities on the 1260H list or entities subject to their control. Accordingly, DoD-funded work should not rely on these vendors for procurements.
In addition, the BIOSECURE provisions of the FY2026 NDAA, once implemented through the Federal Acquisition Regulation and related federal processes, will restrict the use of all federal contract, grant, and loan funds to acquire biotechnology equipment or services from designated “biotechnology companies of concern.” That category includes 1260H-listed companies involved in biotechnology equipment or services.
Given these developments, investigators are strongly encouraged to identify alternate suppliers now for companies added to the 1260H list, particularly for sequencing, genotyping, biotechnology services, laboratory equipment, and related research support.
Please contact the Office of Research Security and Trade Compliance (researchsecurity@pitt.edu) with any questions about the 1260H list.
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2026 ORP Annual Report Now Available
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Explore the 2026 ORP Annual Report to learn about ORP's key accomplishments during the past year. The report highlights our work to support ethical, compliant, and high-quality research throughout the University of Pittsburgh.
A few highlights from across ORP’s nine divisions:
Recognition for excellence
AAALAC International renewed the University’s accreditation with its highest distinction, “Exemplary,” following an October 2025 site visit, and the animal research program drew no findings of noncompliance in the USDA’s April 2026 inspection. The Human Research Protection Program also advanced in the AAHRPP accreditation process, and the Federal Select Agent Program completed its three-year renewal inspection.
Strengthening compliance
ORP partnered with Pitt Digital to achieve CMMC Level 2 Certification, positioning the University to accept grants and contracts involving controlled unclassified information (CUI). A new Research Security Refresher Training module was deployed on CITI, and new guidance was issued on the DOJ Bulk Sensitive Data Rule. In partnership with the Department of Energy, a non-operational cesium irradiator was removed from the Hillman Cancer Center and enhanced biometric security is being added across remaining irradiators.
Innovation and efficiency
ORP continued to modernize its work, including an AI-assisted IACUC pre-review tool whose methodology was published in LabAnimal, an institutional framework for the responsible use of AI in human subjects research, and a Human Subjects Research Determination Tool that has issued roughly 500 determination letters to date. An enterprise license for Proofig AI now supports pre-publication detection of image manipulation, and Visual Compliance was integrated with University purchasing for automated screening of vendors and collaborators.
Policy leadership
The Research Misconduct Policy (RI-07) was fully rewritten to meet new federal regulations, the Academic Visitor Policy earned unanimous Senate Council approval, and Pitt’s response to NIH’s proposed Genomic Data Sharing Policy served as a template for other institutions’ submissions.
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ORP is pleased to welcome Tiffany Coleman, MS, MPH, CIP, who joined the University of Pittsburgh on June 15, 2026, as Director of Education and Compliance Support for Human Subject Research.
Tiffany comes to Pitt from Augusta University, where she served as Director of the Human Research Protection Program. A nationally recognized human research protection professional, she brings extensive experience in IRB administration, compliance, community engagement, and inclusion in research.
We look forward to the expertise and leadership she will bring in supporting Pitt’s human subject research community.
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ORP's Radiation Safety Division is proud to announce the first graduate of the Diagnostic Medical Physics Residency program, launched in collaboration with the Department of Radiology. Grant Lattery completes the residency at the end of June — a milestone for both Grant and the program.
During his residency, Grant gained hands-on experience supporting the safe, effective use of medical imaging technologies, including X-ray, CT, MRI, and mammography systems. This training prepared him for a career in medical physics, the field dedicated to ensuring the quality, safety, and performance of the imaging equipment used in patient care.
The Radiation Safety Office congratulates Grant on this achievement and wishes him continued success in the next chapter of his career.
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Protect Your Work Before You Submit: Proofig AI is Now Available
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Image integrity has become one of the most common reasons manuscripts are flagged, corrected, or retracted—often over honest errors made long before submission. To help Pitt researchers catch these issues early, access to the Proofig AI image analysis platform is now available.
Proofig AI screens scientific manuscripts for potential image duplication, manipulation, plagiarism, and AI-generated images, and it compares figures against a growing database of published open-access papers.
Running your figures through the platform before you submit lets you self-identify and resolve image-related problems —strengthening the integrity of your work and reducing the risk of subsequent corrections, reviewer concerns, or post-publication scrutiny.
Information about access and training sessions offered by the Health Sciences Library is available on this page.
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Annual Disclosures were due by April 15th. University employees who are required to disclose receive weekly email reminders from MyDisclosures with links to their Disclosures. If you are required to disclose but have not yet done so, please complete your Disclosure as soon as possible. Supervisor reviews of disclosures were due by June 15.
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To review your disclosure requirements, MyDisclosures training videos and step-by-step instructions or guidance for supervisors, visit: https://www.coi.pitt.edu/mydisclosures
As a general reminder, investigators in University research must also disclose their financial interests in related MyRA, ARO and PittPro submissions. Following are two examples:
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An investigator consults for a company and conducts University research sponsored by that company. The investigator must indicate a financial interest when the sponsored research agreement is initiated in MyRA.
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An investigator creates a start-up company and conducts University animal research that will evaluate technology the start-up company has optioned from the University. The investigator must indicate a financial interest in the IACUC protocol.
If you have questions, please contact the Office of Research Protections’ Conflict of Interest Division at mydisclosures_support@pitt.edu.
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Leaving the University This Summer?
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If you are retiring or transitioning to another institution, it is important to properly close out your laboratory and research activities to avoid regulatory complications. We’re here to help make that process as smooth as possible.
Please start by reviewing the Checklist for Investigators Leaving the University.
In addition, all departing faculty members must complete an online notification form as far in advance of their departure date as possible. Submitting this form will alert the relevant University offices, who will follow up to ensure research activities are concluded appropriately.
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