External Investigator Research Requests

An external investigator (or entity) interested in collecting data from UMMC will be required to complete a research request. The research request will collect specific information to allow for the research project to be reviewed by the External Request Review Committee (ERRC). Please review the External Investigator Requests Policy and the External Investigator Requests Procedure on external investigator research requests.

Please complete the ERRC Online Application. The application will include:

• the organization(s),
• research investigators,
• how the information will be utilized (e.g., grant, dissertation, ongoing research, etc.),
• description of the research request (i.e., project objectives, study methodology, data analysis, etc.), and
• if human subject research is involved, an approved IRB through the applicants home institution.

A UMMC sponsor will be required to help facilitate the collection of the research data. It will be the responsibility of the external investigator to identify an appropriate UMMC sponsor based on needed expertise (e.g., search UMMC website).

The extent of the sponsor's role will be limited and he/she may not actively participate in the project through collection of data or samples, conduct interviews, obtain consent, distribute questionnaires, identify potential participants, or have any interaction with study participants or study environment. If the external investigator expects or requires the sponsor to be actively involved, then this would require review by the UMMC IRB, and the research request would not proceed through the ERRC.

Submitted applications will be evaluated by the ERRC on a rolling basis. The review of the application will involve an assessment of the scientific merit, potential to impact one or more of the missions of UMMC, and whether the collected data provide any risk to UMMC. Typically, the review process with will take approximately 3-4 weeks. However, the time from submission to committee recommendation (i.e., approve, request for additional information, etc.) will depend upon the completeness of the application, including having an approved IRB at time of submission.

Questions and inquiries regarding external research requests can be directed to:

John T. Bates, Ph.D.
Chair, External Request Review Committee (ERRC)
(601) 815-9568