All study team members must complete an online training course in the protection of human subjects through the CITI program. Researchers choose between the biomedical training and the social science training. Either fulfills the human subjects requirement. Penn State requires initial and continuing (every 3 years) education in the protection of human research participants for individuals involved in the conduct or oversight of human participant research.

Researchers working on a clinical trial or FDA-regulated research must also complete Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training. Choose between the drugs/device (U.S. FDA focused) GCP training and the social/behavioral research GCP training. Select the course most appropriate to your research, but please note that researchers conducting protocols involving a drug or device must choose the FDA option.

For new studies and study modifications, CITI training must be complete for all study team members before it can be approved. It is the principal investigator’s responsibility to ensure all study team members listed on the IRB submission have current Human Subjects Research training, and Good Clinical Practice training when applicable, in order to continue working on the study. Individuals with expired CITI training are prohibited from conducting any human subjects research, including data analysis.

See the instructions on how to register in a course and navigate the CITI system or go directly to CITI to complete required training (be sure to choose the correct log-in location).