Training Requirements

Each person conducting or assisting with a research project involving biohazardous materials must receive training regarding laboratory safety 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.  

In addition, yearly in-person and/or online refresher training specific to approved agents will be required and conducted by Safety Services. 

Training regarding financial conflicts of interest in research is required of all investigators and research personnel and applies to all research, regardless of funding. 

TTUHSC El Paso is using the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI, www.citiprogram.org) for this training. Instructions for completing the training can be found here. Training must be completed every 4 years. Renewal training is identical to the initial CITI course.

TTUHSCEP OP 73.09 requires that Investigators and research personnel update their Research Financial Disclosure forms on at least an annual basis, or within 30 days of a change in significant financial interests. The annual disclosure form may be accessed through iRIS via the Conflict of Interest Module under "My Workspaces" at the top left of the iRIS dashboard. Guides for the submission of the financial disclosure through iRIS can be located here.

To begin an online course, visit www.citiprogram.org and click on "Register". After selecting Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center - El Paso (not Texas Tech University) as your institution, you will be directed to create a username and password. You do not need an eRaider account to access or complete the training. If possible, please use your TTUHSC email address as your primary email and include a personal account as the secondary. 

If you have an existing CITI account, please use the “add an affiliation” links of your CITI homepage to affiliate your account with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center - El Paso.

Once affiliated, select “View Courses” next to our institution name and then “Add a Course” to reach a listing of all courses that may be registered for.

An overall score of at least 80% is required to earn completion credit for an individual course. Upon completion of a course, you will be able to download a course transcript and may return at any time to print your completion report by clicking on “View previously completed coursework. TTUHSC El Paso receives a notification of your successful completion of a course and training records automatically transfer over to your iRIS account (if one exists) within approximately 3-4 hours.

All investigators and research staff are required to renew their training at regular intervals, training regarding animal research and most supplemental courses offered by CITI must be renewed at least once every three years. Conflict of Interest training must be renewed every four years.

The ability to submit new projects or continuing reviews of ongoing projects may be limited if required training items have lapsed.

All research personnel who handle, transport off campus, and cause hazardous materials to be transported off campus are required to complete this training.
The training module can be accessed at: https://news.mayocliniclabs.com/2021/06/15/dangerous-goods-training-2/
Additional information is available at: https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/safety/hazmatinfo.aspx 

All research personnel are required to receive this training if involved with the procurement, possession, storage, use, transfer, disposal, training, and security of exempt quantities of select agent toxins. Information is available at: https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/safety/lab.aspx. All personnel working with select agents will also be required to obtain FBI clearance before beginning any work. 

Additional training may be required if working in BSL2 or BSL3 areas of the Laboratory Animal Resources Center (LARC). Information is available at: https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/safety/lab.aspx.