Compliance and Regulatory

Research must be handled with the utmost standard of ethics and integrity. This includes being honest about how research will be, is and was performed and evaluated, and ensuring all rules and regulations are followed.

The Office of Research Integrity, within the Office of Research and Innovation, has broad oversight over this standard at UofL. Its staff directs and conducts the university’s program for education and training in the responsible conduct of research, coordinating the implementation of this effort with departments and units within the university, with the objective of ensuring that the responsible conduct of research is maintained at a high priority level in all aspects of research activities.

A conflict of interest is any situation that may compromise or appear to compromise a covered individual’s (employee’s) professional judgment in carrying out their institutional activities because of an external relationship/interest of the employee or their immediate family.

The Conflict of Interest Program, within the Office of Research and Innovation, can help researchers identify, disclose and manage these potential conflicts. For more information on human subjects research, please see the Conflicts of Interest page.

Research involving animal subjects is held to the highest standard and highly regulated to ensure ethics and safety. For more information on human subjects research, please see the animal subjects research page.

Research involving human subjects is held to the highest standard to ensure the subjects' safety and that their information is protected.

The Human Subjects Protection Program Office (HSPPO) helps to ensure that all UofL research involving human participants is conducted in accordance with federal and state regulations and university and sponsoring agency policies and procedures instituted to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants.

For more information on human subjects research, please see our human subjects research page.

When research becomes international - whether through shared information, travel or active participation - it is important to follow the proper procedures for export control to ensure the security and integrity of data.

UofL will assist investigators in complying with export control laws, but the primary responsibility rests with the researcher, so it is important that faculty and other researchers understand their obligations under the regulations and follow them. The consequences of violating the regulations can be severe, and include loss of research funding, fines, and/or prison time.

For more information on handling international research, please see our Export Controls page.

When conducting research, it may be necessary to control for biological, occupational, radiation, chemical and other safety and to dispose of potentially hazardous waste correctly. For assistance with these concerns, please contact UofL’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety.