R. Steve Dick/University Relations
William Sharp is the director of the Office of Research Integrity. He helps ensure research is conducted according to federal, state and KU guidelines.
CAMPUS CLOSEUPWilliam Sharp - Director, Research Integrity
Years at current job: Two. I’ve worked in research administration at KU for 11 years.
Job duties: Together with my staff, I endeavor to develop best practices and to work with schools, departments and the administration to encourage researchers to conduct research responsibly and in accordance with applicable federal, state and university regulations. I work with university committees and offices across campus such as the Human Subjects Committee, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, the Restricted Research Committee and the Conflict of Interest Committee to provide support and response on research integrity issues. I also help analyze and recommend changes in KU policies and practices in research integrity areas.
Your office oversees the responsible conduct of research. What are some of the most common potential problems you encounter? Possibly the perception by some that our office is somehow capable of overseeing the responsible conduct of research, or RCR, for the entire campus. For me the notion envisions us as Shakespearean pixies sprinkling research responsibility faerie dust on researchers all over KU. We are certainly immersed in RCR issues, provide education and resources, and are involved in some regulatory functions, but the responsible conduct of research is inherently the responsibility of everyone involved in research—researchers, administrators, students. Oversight of RCR does not rest solely with our office. Research Integrity provides some administrative oversight, but the essential oversight resides with us all.
The second would be that our office has NOTHING to do with the Statement of Substantial Interests that many KU employees are required to file with the State of Kansas every April.
HIPAA has greatly changed the restrictions on health information, how has it affected research with human subjects? As researchers who work with human participants are well aware, all personally identifiable research data should of course be carefully safeguarded. Federal HIPAA regulations prescribe some extensive and highly prescriptive rules for how a particular class of personal information, especially electronic protected health information, must be safeguarded. The HIPAA Security Rule certainly imposes significant additional responsibilities on researchers, many of them quite onerous.
Research Integrity provides resources such as the class Research 101. What topics does the class cover? Research Integrity organizes Research Administration 101, but the class is taught by a wide variety of staff members from Research and Graduate Studies as well as a few other campus units.
The course provides an overview of how externally sponsored projects should be managed, and includes topics such as proposal preparation, grant award terms and conditions, contracts and subcontracts, award spending and monitoring, payroll, human resources, technology transfer and research compliance.
Restricted research is another topic your office deals with. What are some examples of research that is restricted? The most common restriction we face is an external funding sponsor wanting the publication of research results to be delayed for a period of time. For example, the sponsor might need time to file a patent application, or it might want time to review the research findings prior to publication. Since 9/11, we have also increasingly encountered proposed contracts, typically with Department of Defense agencies or DOD contractors, which would restrict the participation of foreign nationals. Any such extended delay of publication or any restriction on participation by foreign students or scholars must be reviewed by the Restricted Research Committee, which may recommend an exception to KU’s normal practice of not accepting such restrictions if the project is deemed to involve unique university capabilities, has very substantial scholarly or educational benefits, or constitutes a very substantial public service which outweigh the disadvantages posed by the restrictions.
What do you enjoy most about your profession? Research, teaching, service — What’s not to like? These are worthwhile endeavors. I really feel in the thick of things in my role here, and it is personally gratifying to feel that I am playing a part in furthering the university’s core missions.
What are some aspects of your job others might not realize you’re involved with? Sometimes I feel like our office is characterized primarily by its regulatory functions. We would much prefer to be recognized for our attempts to promote generally an environment that is conducive to conducting research responsibly, rather than be portrayed as enforcers of “the rules.” Along this vein, we are excited about the recent reorganization bringing Graduate Studies and Research Integrity under the same umbrella of Research and Graduate Studies, because responsible conduct of research and graduate education go hand in glove. We look forward to working together to enhance the graduate student experience at KU by exploring effective ways of incorporating responsible conduct of research education into the curriculum and extra-curriculum.
Some types of research, such as that done with animals, are controversial. What other types of research require careful oversight to ensure full compliance with established standards? Even if a particular research project involving human participants is not clinical in nature, and may in fact only involve asking subjects a series of questions, it is still crucial that investigators recognize that participants have a right to know how the information they provide is being used and that they must be willing participants in the research (the principle of informed consent). Some may not realize that the Human Subjects Committee must review the protocols for such projects even if there is absolutely no danger of physical harm to the participants.
Research projects involving the shipment of equipment or technologies to foreign countries must also be careful that any such shipments conform to U.S. export control laws.
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