COVID-19 Operations Update
Updated 6/25/2020 Heading link
As research resumes on campus, CCTS will continue to provide virtual consultative support. Our research specialists are available by phone, Webex, Zoom or the online conferencing mechanism of your choice. CCTS research support tools, such as REDCap , QUICKSet and the Community Engagement Toolbox are always available on-demand and free of charge.
If you are an investigator conducting human subject research, please review the following update from the UIC Office for the Protection of Research Subjects:
Human Subjects Research Restart: Establishment of UIC’s COVID-19 Research Recovery Committee
Dear Colleagues,
The UIC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is establishing a COVID-19 Research Recovery Committee in collaboration with the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences to help investigators and Deans prioritize IRB approved studies for reopening. (Please Note: Research with human subjects in the context of ongoing therapeutic care, those addressing COVID-19 treatment, and those studies that have been able to be conducted without face-to-face contact may continue to operate as they have for the past months.)
Study Principal Investigators (PIs) who have protocols they are prepared to restart are asked to complete the UIC COVID-19 Human Subjects Research Restart Worksheet to allow assessment of their studies’ ability to re-open.
PIs must identify their study’s risks and benefits in several areas, including:
- the nature and location of study procedures;
- the risk profile of their research subjects;
- whether the study offers subjects direct benefits to subjects;
- whether the study is conducted during routine UI Health facility visits with patients, or during other visits to campus by volunteer subjects;
- whether or not some or all study procedures can be accomplished within 6’ physical distancing and masking requirements.
Restart applications will be reviewed by OVCR staff and by a faculty committee, co-chaired by Robin Mermelstein, Director of the UIC Center for Vlinical and Translational Sciences and Jonathan Klein, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. The review will be focused on maximizing safety and minimizing risk to research subjects and investigators/staff. All studies that require contact (<6 foot distance) between investigators or staff and research subjects must plan and use appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for these contacts. As was the case for UI Health in restarting elective patient procedures, human subjects research restart plans will require a gradual, staged start to allow for testing of safety procedures and ensure protection of research volunteers and research staff.
If you have questions or concerns regarding research restart plans, please contact research@uic.edu.