Frequently Asked Questions
You can log in to iRIS at any time and use the dropdown menu in the top left to navigate to My Workspaces > Conflict of Interest Workspace. The due date of your next research disclosure is listed at the top of the page in red text. The disclosure form must be submitted on an annual basis and the due date displayed by the system is automatically assigned one full calendar year after the date of your last disclosure. Please keep in mind that you are required to submit an updated form within 30 days of obtaining a new financial interest, regardless of your assigned due date.
All disclosures previously submitted in iRIS can be viewed by hovering over the dropdown menu in the top left corner of iRIS and navigating to My Workspaces > Conflict of Interest > Annual Research Financial Disclosure Form. The page should display the last disclosure submitted / in progress and previous versions can be expanded by clicking on the “View History” folder icon. Click on the notepad icon in the “Edit/View” column to open a full copy of any individual disclosure.
The research disclosure form must be submitted on an annual basis and a due date is assigned one full calendar year after the date of your last disclosure. Please check the due date of your disclosure in iRIS by logging in and navigating to the Conflict of Interest Workspace.
You may have submitted other disclosure forms in the course of your TTUHSCEP duties that are separate from the Office of Research. These include the Institutional Conflict of Research disclosure form submitted via the IRBManager platform or the preliminary financial disclosure form completed as part of the grant submission process via the Qualtrics platform. These forms have different reporting thresholds and content compared to the research disclosure housed in iRIS and are not interchangeable.
Research undertaken with family members as part of the study personnel are reportable on your research disclosure per TTUHSCEP OP 73.18. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the appointment of study personnel is performed on the basis of individual qualification and that an individual does not serve as the direct supervisor of a family member collaborating on their research. Disclosed interests of this type are reviewed by the COIRC in a similar manner as financial conflicts of interests and may make recommendations to preserve the integrity and conduct of research.
iRIS is an electronic web-based research software that facilitates COIRC, IACUC, IBC, and IRB submissions and management of research protocols. Use of iRIS is mandated on the TTUHSC El Paso campus for all submissions.
While on the iRIS login pageselect “Request New Account”. Please fill out the request entirely and include what type of research (IRB/IBC/IACUC) you will conduct in the request purpose field. When complete, click on “Submit Request”. Please ensure that relevant training for your intended research is completed prior to requesting access to the iRIS system or it may result in delays in account approval.
Submission of a Financial Disclosure for research is required within five (5) days of obtaining an iRIS account and must be updated on an annual basis thereafter per TTUHSC El Paso OP 73.09. This form is submitted from within the COI module of iRIS, please visit Financial Disclosure Submission Guides page for further information regarding how to submit a new or updated disclosure.
The following are the requirements to obtain an iRIS account based on the nature of your research:
IRB related studies
For IRB related studies, the minimum requirements are as follows:
- Conflict of Interest course through CITI
- Human Subject Research course through CITI
Common supplementary required training courses for IRB related studies include:
- Clinical Research Coordinator through CITI: required of all research coordinators AND research personnel performing functions related to recruiting and/or consenting in drug and/or device studies
- Good Clinical Practice through CITI: for those doing research with drug or device studies
- Informed Consent Training through ACME: for studies that involve informed consent
Human Subjects Research (HSR) training is at www.citiprogram.org. Please select question No. 1 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.
Conflict of Interest (COI) training is at www.citiprogram.org. Please select question No. 5 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.
Additional training may be required based on the specific research conducted, these may be completed after obtaining iRIS account.
IBC related studies
For IBC related studies, the minimum requirements are as follows:
- Conflict of Interest course through CITI
- Lab Safety Essential (LSE) training
Lab Safety Essentials (LSE) Training regarding laboratory safety must be completed prior to conducting any work in any TTUHSCEP laboratory or approved area. Access to the training is obtained through Safety Services by emailing Jacqueline.lomeli@ttuhsc.edu.
Conflict of Interest (COI) training is at www.citiprogram.org. Please select question No. 5 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.
Additional training may be required based on the specific research conducted, these may be completed after obtaining iRIS account.
IACUC related studies
For IACUC related studies, the minimum requirements are as follows:
- Conflict of Interest course through CITI
- Working with the IACUC course through CITI
- Reducing Pain and Distress in Laboratory Mice and Rats course through CITI
- Working with (Specie) in Research Settings course through CITI: must be completed according to the specie listed on the protocol.
- Occupational Health Safety: must complete evaluation and health questionnaire with the OHS nurse, the questionnaire can be requested from the IACUC Lead Analyst.
Conflict of Interest (COI) training is at www.citiprogram.org. Please select question No. 5 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.
Working with IACUC, Reducing Pain and Distress and Laboratory Mice and Rats, and Working with (Specie) in Research Settings are available through www.citiprogram.org. Please select the corresponding options in question No. 3 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.
Additional Training - As applicable:
Antibody Production in Animals: Required of all research personnel working with antibodies. The course can be found at www.citiprogram.org/.
Aseptic Surgery: Required of all research personnel if performing surgery. The course can be found at www.citiprogram.org/.
Additional training may be required based on the specific research conducted, these may be completed after obtaining iRIS account. IACUC Lead Analyst Amanda Ortiz will advise on which other trainings should be completed through the CITI program.
You can affiliate your account with Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso by visiting www.citiprogram.org and following the steps below.
- From the Main Menu on your profile, click on the link "Click here to affiliate with another institution."
- Type and choose the correct institution from the search box.
- Answer the member information questions required by your newly affiliated institution.
- Enroll in the course(s) required by your newly affiliated institution.
If you would like to receive credit for modules previously taken, there are several requirements that must be met.
- To transfer course credit between institutions, you will need to be affiliated with both institutions (your previous institution and your new institution). Follow the "Click here to affiliate with another institution" link on your Main Menu to add an affiliation.
- When you are affiliated with both institutions, enroll in the courses that need to be transferred under both institutions via the "Add a Course or Update Learner Groups" link under the appropriate institution if necessary. You will need to enroll in the same stage of the course (Basic/Refresher) for a proper transfer to occur.
Once you are enrolled in the courses, any modules that are shared between the courses between institutions will have their credit transferred automatically. The transfer is based on each module's unique ID number. If the courses do not match exactly, not all credit will transfer, and you may need complete the difference in modules at your new institution to get full credit for a Completion Report.
What if I have completed this CITI training course previously?
Many institutions use the CITI program to administrate required training courses and the same course is often used between different institutions. If you have completed a specific course (or modules within a course) within the past two years then you will automatically receive credit for those portions when enrolling for the same course under the TTUHSC El Paso affiliation in CITI.
How do I transfer records of previous CITI course completions to TTUHSC El Paso?
Simply affiliate your CITI account with TTUHSC El Paso and enroll for the course under our section. Upon enrolling, you will automatically be granted credit for the courses or modules/portions of courses that you have completed in the past two years. Please note that the Course ID must match for credit to be transferred; similar training with different course numbers is not accepted and will not transfer.
Why did my CITI course completion from a different institution not transfer to TTUHSC El Paso?
If you have followed the steps above and credit has not transferred, it may be due to the following reasons:
- The course completed at the other institution is not compatible with the TTUHSC El Paso version. This occurs when an institution opts for a highly customized course with institution specific content rather than the base course offered by CITI or simply uses a different base course with similar content. You will need to enroll for and complete our required course(s) in their entirety as these have been approved by our institutional bodies to comply with local/state/federal regulations.
- Not all modules required for the course by TTUHSC El Paso have been completed. For some courses, TTUHSC El Paso requires completion of supplementary modules beyond the base course offered by CITI. If you have completed the base course at another institution within the past two years you will receive credit for those portions upon enrollment and need only complete the additional modules. Upon completion of these, you will receive a new certificate for the entire course valid for the full renewal period.
- The course is expired or was completed more than two years ago. Due to the renewal periods set by our institution and federal regulations, training older than two years is not accepted for transfer to TTUHSC El Paso.