The UW-Madison Campus adheres to and indeed exceeds federal and state guidelines mandated for safety, animal care, animal subjects, human subjects, biological safety, radiation safety, recombinant DNA safety etc. through appropriate administrative departments and review boards. Beyond formal instruction, VTG faculty are also involved in the review boards for animal and human subjects. This active participation as well as compliance with safety guidelines and attendance at appropriate training programs in animal use and radiation safety, means these issues are never far from our daily lives, and the faculty and senior technical/animal care staff are instrumental in guiding trainees in these areas. Campus-wide re-certification of human subjects training is required for faculty, staff and trainees who are participating in research using human subjects. Completion of the on-line learning modules is required before any IRB Protocols are approved or renewed. Trainers/Principal Investigators are also responsible for ensuring compliance with the specific requirements.
Providing quality training in the responsible conduct of research is a top priority for program director Paul Lambert. Trainees (and trainers) are expected to carry out their research in an ethically responsible manner and to exhibit scientific integrity and responsibility in their interactions with others. Trainees receive instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research throughout their training in formal classroom settings, through biosafety training, through seminars and Speaker-Chats offered by experts, and by their thesis committees (predoctoral), mentors, and directly from program director Dr. Lambert. All trainers are expected to take an active role in this training.
