Office of Research and Sponsored Programs ~
Division of Research Integrity and Compliance

Tom Lombardo, Ph.D., Director

The mission of the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance is to ensure compliance with all university, state, and federal policies and regulations on research in a manner that facilitates the research mission of The University of Mississippi. In addition to ensuring that procedural requirements are met, the Division aims to create a culture of responsible conduct of research among administrators, researchers, students involved in research, and research support staff. The primary functions of the Division of Research Integrity and Compliance include the following:

• Protect human research subjects through its support and interface with the Institutional Review Board (IRB);
• Ensure understanding of underlying ethics, regulations, and local policies and procedures on human subjects protections by educating IRB members and all human research faculty, staff, and students;
• Process and assist researchers with completion of IRB applications, amendments, progress reports, and adverse/unexpected event reports;
• Oversee the welfare and use of research animals through its support and interface with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC);
• Ensure understanding of underlying ethics, regulations, and local policies and procedures on research animal welfare and care by educating IACUC members and all animal research faculty, staff, and students;
• Process and assist researchers with completion of IACUC applications, amendments, progress reports, and significant event reports;
• Educate all personnel involved with research in the Responsible Conduct of Research;
• Comply with federal reporting regulations, including maintaining assurances with the Department of Health and Human Services (Office for Human Research Protections and Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare) and maintaining registration with the Department of Agriculture (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care Program).