The following memo was distributed from John Keller, Interim Vice President for Research, to the University of Iowa campus on December 12, 2018.
"We want to remind University of Iowa researchers of their professional responsibility to completely and accurately disclose all external financial interests, affiliations, activities, and relationships, including with any foreign entities that could reasonably be related to their institutional responsibilities.
Recent reports by the federal government provide an opportunity to highlight the importance of transparency and disclosure, both within UI’s established processes and to outside organizations such as research sponsors, academic journals, and professional societies.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins testified before Congress on August 23 about the risk of inappropriate foreign influences on research integrity. He also identified three areas of concern in a letter to NIH awardee institutions:
- Improper diversion of intellectual property (IP) in grant applications or produced by NIH-supported biomedical research to other entities, including other countries;
- Sharing of confidential information on grant application by NIH peer reviewers with others, including foreign entities, or otherwise attempting to influence funding decisions; and
- Failure by some researchers to disclose substantial resources from other organizations, including foreign governments, which threaten to distort decisions about the appropriate use of NIH funds.
The University of Iowa is committed to fostering dynamic research collaborations while also promoting full transparency surrounding all interactions with industry and foreign entities. We also expect all members of the research community to comply with all university and sponsor policies.
Please take this opportunity to refresh your understanding of the following:
- Intellectual property ownership rights and restrictions
- Sponsor confidentiality requirements for peer reviewers, and
- UI and sponsor policies and procedures for disclosing outside activities, funding and relationships."
For additional information, please visit the following websites.