Published June 2, 2026, via Research News
The Office of Sponsored Research Services (OSRS) has recently received several requests to waive mandatory sponsor requirements including Research Security Training, Other Support Training, EPA Disclosures and other regulatory requirements. Exceptions or waivers cannot be granted. All senior/key individuals must complete all sponsor-required trainings and disclosures before the proposal can be submitted. This is of particular importance for NIH’s June 5th deadline now that NIH is requiring Research Security and Other Support training for all individuals listed as senior/key personnel.
For Research Security Training, senior/key personnel certify completion when certifying the Biosketch or Current and Pending (Other) Support documents in SciENcv. The Authorized Organization Representative also confirms compliance and certifies the institution has complied with the sponsor’s requirements for training and disclosures.
If the sponsor has a Research Security Training requirement, applications cannot be submitted unless all Covered Individuals (e.g., Senior/Key Personnel) have completed the applicable training and compliance requirements. OSRS will not submit applications that include covered individuals who do not have valid training. This includes applications where WashU will be the incoming subaward, JITs, and any time a Biosketch or Other Support is submitted. If training or certifications are completed outside normal business hours, OSRS will submit the application/documentation on the next business day.
At WashU, the course that satisfies Research Security Training requirement for all sponsors (NIH, NSF, DOE, USDA) is the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Online Training course. This course is not automatically assigned due to the nature of the requirement. Anyone planning to be listed as senior/key personnel on a grant within the next 12 months should self-enroll and complete this training.
This WashU-specific training is self-paced and typically takes less time than other publicly available Research Security Training courses.
Links to Frequently Required Training
- Current and Pending (Other) Support
- External Professional Activities (EPA) Disclosure – The disclosure is submitted in the Conflicts of Interest module in RMS. Completions are sent to Workday within 1 day.
- Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Online Training
Resources
- NIH Research Security Training Requirements – WashU Research News announcement, published April 15, 2026
- Trainings for Researchers webpage – List of common training requirements
- Research Security Training Policy
- Current and Pending (Other) Support Policy
- External Professional Activities Policy
- NOT-OD-26-017 – Research Security Training Requirements for NIH
- Confirming compliance training completions
- In Workday: Follow the steps on Reporting on Training in Workday
- In RMS: On the Personnel tab, select Certifications and Training
Sincerely,
Mark Lowe, MD, PhD
Vice Chancellor of Research
Senior Associate Dean for Research, School of Medicine
Harvey R. Colten Professor of Pediatric Science
WashU Medicine