The Middle Georgia State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversees human subjects research within the MGA community. The IRB functions to protect the rights of human research subjects recruited to participate in research studies conducted under the authority of MGA. This also includes the oversight of data, records, biological specimens, and any other identifiable information pertaining to human subjects. 

Please click on the link for further information: Institutional Review Board

The Office of Research & Sponsored Projects (ORSP) provides support for research and sponsored activities, emphasizing the avoidance of conflicts, bias, and foreign influence. Principal Investigators/Program Directors (PI/PDs) and Senior/Key Personnel are required to maintain a high level of transparency regarding their personal financial matters, which includes those of their spouse and dependent children and disclose any potential conflicts of interest to ORSP. Furthermore, they must be forthcoming about any financial support, affiliations with international institutions, and available resources. It is crucial to keep this information up-to-date throughout the duration of an award. Training concerning conflicts of interest are available through ORSP.

Conflicts of interest in research, particularly when involving the use of animals and human subjects, pose a significant ethical challenge. These conflicts can compromise the integrity and objectivity of scientific investigations and the well-being of those involved. It is imperative for researchers to rigorously identify, disclose, and manage potential conflicts to maintain public trust and ensure that the rights, safety, and welfare of both animals and human subjects throughout the research process. MGA expects employees working with human or animal subjects to prioritize ethical behavior and practices.

The Middle Georgia State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversees animal subjects research within the MGA community. The IACUC functions to safeguard responsible animal research by ensuring ethical, scientifically sound, standardized practices in research studies conducted under the authority of MGA.

Please click on the link for further information: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Chemical Safety: There are numerous environmental laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels regarding MGA campus activities. In addition, the USG Board of Regents has adopted certain environmental procedures for the USG institutions to follow. Further, the institution has adopted certain environmental procedures for MGA’s personnel to follow. It is essential that MGA personnel understand which laws and regulations, USG procedures, and MGA procedures apply to campus activities and also what these laws, regulations and procedures specifically require. MGA’s Environmental Health and Safety Office maintains a comprehensive listing of applicable laws and regulations. 

When planning a campus activity such as research with any materials that might impact the environment, please refer to the following list of environmental regulations and other requirements: environmental-management/docs/EMS_Documents_2017.pdf

Biosafety: 

The MGA Department of Natural Sciences Biosafety Committee is responsible for oversight of activities involving biohazardous materials as required by the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL). Further information about this committee may be found in Appendix D.  All RESEARCHERS must secure approval for their activities with 1) recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules (r/sNA) or 2) biohazardous materials by submitting a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement (MUA) with the NS Biosafety Committee (Appendix A). Research at Biosafety Level3 and higher is not permitted at MGA.  Examples of r/sNA or Biohazardous materials that require review when used in research: 

• transgenic plants or animals
• nfectious organisms (bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, viruses, yeasts, etc.) which can cause disease in humans and animals
• human or non‐human‐primate materials (body fluids, tissues, cell lines, etc.)
• biotoxins
• investigational live, recombinant, synthetic or attenuated virus strains
• plant pathogens
• mammalian cell culture 

• Activities that involve only the in vitro use of nucleic acids (i.e., PCR, synthetic double stranded RNA) and does not involve the cloning and propagation of recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules in cells, organisms or viruses.
• Use of microorganisms that can be contained at Biosafety level‐1. 

For further information regarding research with biohazardous materials, please click on the following biosafety policy manual: Biosafety Policy Manual