When an investigator involved in research has a financial interest, the interest must be evaluated to prevent violation of state or federal law and/or basic principles of ethics and fairness. Appointed by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the University of Iowa CIRC includes faculty representing a broad range of research disciplines. In addition to its regular membership, the CIRC includes a number of non-voting advisory members from various administrative offices.

The current members are:

Delwyn Miller (Chair) - Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine
Ned Bowden (Vice Chair) - Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Kim Brogden - Dows Institute for Research, College of Dentistry
Christopher Coffey - Biostatistics, College of Public Health
James Cremer - Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Robert Kerns - Medicinal & Natural Products Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Sarah Larsen - Associate Dean, Graduate College
Erik Lie - Finance, Tippie College of Business
Kathy Schuh - Psychological & Quantitative Foundations, College of Education
Elizabeth Swanson - College of Nursing
Xiaodong Wu - Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering

Meetings

CIRC meets the third Wednesday of every month, alternating East Side and West Side campus locations. Meetings are closed to the public and documentation/records considered or created by the CIRC are treated as confidential personnel records.

No CIRC member may participate in the review of a disclosed financial interest if he/she has an interest or other relationship that may affect the objectivity of review, except to provide information requested by the Committee.

Responsibilities

The Committee is responsible for reviewing financial interests to

• determine whether such interests could bias the research
• consider
  • the nature of the research,
  • the potential impact of the interest,
  • the degree to which the conflict is related to the research
• recommend steps to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development designed to manage, limit or eliminate the impact of the interest on the research

Management Plans

After consideration of the financial conflicts of interest, the research project, and all related materials, the CIRC develops a management plan, if possible.  Management plans include specific action items to be carried out by the investigator with the financial conflict of interest.  (see Scenarios)

The proposed management plan is reviewed by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development who has the authority to accept, reject, or amend it.  The investigator is required to sign the management plan and return it to the Conflict of Interest in Research Office.  A copy of the signed management plan is sent to the investigator's departmental executive officer and/or dean, the Human Subjects Office (if applicable), and to the principal investigator of the study if different from the investigator with the financial interest. DSP will not release the award until they are notified that the financial interest has been managed or mitigated. If the study involved human subjects, the IRB of record will not review the research until the financial interest has been managed and the management plan has been signed and returned to the COIR Office.