Research

The University is deeply committed to the advancement, preservation and dissemination of knowledge and to the advancement and protection of the public interest and welfare. A number of special committees and processes are in place at Princeton to ensure that all research is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner in compliance with University policies, sponsor guidelines and federal regulations.

Export control is a multi-faceted body of law and regulations governing the export of sensitive items, which may include equipment, technology and data used in research. Export control issues may arise on many fronts, and noncompliance with statutory and regulatory requirements may carry heavy civil and criminal penalties.

Export controls at the University are overseen by the Office of Research and Project Administration, which has processes in place for identification and management of export control issues to ensure full compliance with all United States export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations under the Department of Commerce, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations under the Department of State, and other such regulations imposed by the Treasury Department through its Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects (IRB) is responsible for reviewing research projects involving human subjects to ensure that such research activity at the University does not expose any research subject to an unjustifiable risk or loss of privacy. The IRB ensures that each research proposal contains provisions for securing the informed consent of participants, free from undue pressure, prior to the start of research.

All members of the University research community, including undergraduate and graduate students, must obtain approval from the IRB before initiating any research activity involving human subjects. The IRB webpage maintains a list of proposal submission deadlines, and researchers should note that the proposal approval process can take several months. Researchers submitting proposals to the IRB for the first time are encouraged to review the training material on the IRB website and to contact the IRB compliance administrators for guidance.

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is responsible for ensuring appropriate care and use of animals involved in the University’s research and educational activities. The University adheres to a wide range of regulatory guidelines and strives to ensure that the care and use of animals meets the highest standards. IACUC is responsible for overseeing compliance with all federal regulations and University policies, procedures and guidelines governing the care and welfare of animals. 

All research or training projects that involve laboratory animals must have an approved IACUC protocol in place and researchers must have received appropriate training in the care and use of laboratory animals. The IACUC webpage contains information on training, IACUC policies and protocol submission forms and deadlines. Researchers should contact the IACUC compliance administrators well in advance of the anticipated start of research.

The Radiation Safety Committee oversees the University’s radiation safety program, grants authorization to principal investigators and other senior staff members who plan to work with radioactive materials, reviews incidents involving radioactive materials, sets policies for the use of sources of radiation, and gives general supervision to the implementation of those policies.

Principal investigators who plan to use radioactive materials in any form in their laboratories must submit an application to the committee for authorization to possess and use radioactive materials.