Who can be a Principal Investigator (PI) on an IRB protocol

• TAMUK Faculty and Staff can serve as PIs on IRB protocols.
• Students at all levels, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral require a Supervising Faculty Mentor (Supervising Principal Investigator) to oversee and assist with the preparation of their IRB protocols.  This faculty mentor signs off on the protocol as acceptable and certifies they will be the responsible party to the student as needed with the research design and proper execution of the protocol.

Principal Investigator's Responsibilities

The PI is the individual who is responsible for a research study. The PI is required to:

• Follow the TAMUK IRB-approved research study plan.
• Obtain informed consent from all study participants.
• Maintain the confidentiality of study participants.
• Respect the privacy of study participants.
• Quickly respond to all participant concerns and questions.
• Tell participants about changes to the risks or benefits of the study.
• Get approval from the TAMUK IRB for any changes to the study.
• Promptly report all unanticipated problems or research-related injuries to the IRB.
• Per policy, keep research records for seven (3) years after the study is over.
• Effectively train/mentor student researchers in ethical conduct of research.
• Comply with all TAMUK IRB procedures for the ethical conduct of human subject research.