Office of Research Ethics
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Reporting Concerns

The Director of the Office of Research Ethics is responsible for maintaining effective mechanisms by which individuals may report alleged violations of applicable laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures. Reportable incidents might include issues regarding animal welfare, biohazards control, radiation safety, or the safety of human participants in research. All reports will be kept confidential.

How to Report Concerns

Concerns about research at ISU may be reported to:

If the research involves:Report to:
  Live vertebrate animalsDr. Julie Blanchong, Chair, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, 294-9699, julieb@iastate.edu
Dr. Jean Kaptur, Director, Lab Animal Resources/Attending Veterinarian, 515-509-7264, jakaptur@iastate.edu
Any IACUC member – names can be obtained by calling the IACUC/IBC Administrator, 294-9581
Use of recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules; use of human or animal pathogens; use of soil, seed, plants, plant pathogens or other material received under a USDA APHIS compliance agreement or permit; use of biological toxins; administration of experimental biological products to animals; field releases of plant pests or genetically modified organisms that are under a USDA APHIS PPQ or BRS permit or notification.Dr. Steve Whitham, Chair, Institutional Biosafety Committee, 294-4952, swhitham@iastate.edu
Any IBC member
 Human research participantsLorraine Lanningham-Foster, Chair, Institutional Review Board, 294-4684, lmlf@iastate.edu
Any IRB member
 Radioisotopes or radiation-producing devicesDr. Reuben Peters, Chair, Radiation Safety Committee, 294-8580, rjpeters@iastate.edu
Any RSC member

After a Report is Received

Upon receiving a report of alleged noncompliance, the Director of the Office of Research Ethics will work with the principal investigator (PI) to understand what happened to cause the reporter’s concern. The director prepares a report of the incident, which is sent to the PI and the PI’s department chair, per the Standard Operating Procedures developed by the ORE and its committees.

After the PI verifies the accuracy of the report, it is sent to the appropriate review committee to go through the normal review process. The committee then makes its recommendations for any corrective actions and forwards those to the Institutional Official (IO) for review and approval. The Institution has the authority to impose additional corrective actions to reestablish compliance for the project and to help avoid similar situations in the future.