WMed and its affiliated entities recognize academic freedom, including freedom in research and scholarly activities, as fundamental to our educational and intellectual goals. Misconduct in scientific research and scholarly activities fundamentally undermines the intellectual integrity of WMed as a whole, as well as the reputations of those associated with WMed. Such misconduct is a serious violation of federal regulations and WMed policy, and appropriate action must be taken. All members of the WMed community are responsible to assure that misconduct in research and scholarly activities is dealt with effectively, while at the same time, preserving the confidentiality and rights of all individuals involved in misconduct proceedings. To meet these needs and in compliance with federal regulations, WMed has instituted the Misconduct in Research and Scholarly Activities Policy.
Being good stewards of research ethics is one of the primary goals of WMed. By providing Responsible Conduct of Research education and offering advice on authorship and data management we can prevent issues from rising to the level of Misconduct and we will have a better understanding of each other’s academic pursuits and expectations in the research process.
Responsibilities of the Research Integrity Officer include:
- Counseling faculty, staff, and students on authorship best practices as outlined in the Authorship Policy.
- Counseling faculty, staff, and students on best practices regarding control and ownership of data.
- Providing Responsible Conduct of Research educational activities for faculty, residents, fellows, staff, and students.
- Implementing and overseeing the Misconduct in Research and Scholarly Activities Policy impartially without serving as an advocate for complainants, respondents, or others involved in any Misconduct proceeding.
- Implementing and overseeing the Conflicts of Interest and Commitment and Interactions with Pharmaceutical , Biotechnology, and Medical Device policies.
To report an allegation of research misconduct, please call 269.337.6170 or email jered.cornelison@wmed.edu.
Anonymous allegations will be considered, however, the allegation must contain sufficient information to permit an objective assessment of the allegation. Anonymous allegations can be submitted to:
Western Michigan Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
ATTN: Jered Cornelison, Research Integrity Officer
1000 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008
Research Integrity Officer
Jered Cornelison, PhD, served as the Research Integrity Coordinator, assisting the Research Integrity Officer at Michigan State University between 2000 and 2014. In this role, he advised the Research Integrity Officer, coordinated research misconduct proceedings, researched allegations and acquired supporting evidence for allegations, and advised faculty and students on authorship and data management best practices. In addition, Dr. Cornelison gave multiple Responsible Conduct of Research presentations and co-authored the results of research on the effect of Mentoring and Research Misconduct. In 2014, Dr. Cornelison was appointed the Research Integrity Officer at WMed. In this role, he administers the policies on Misconduct in Research and Scholarly Activities, Conflicts of Interest and Commitment, and Interaction with Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Medical Device Companies, and serves on the WMed Compliance Committee. Dr. Cornelison’s philosophy as the Research Integrity Officer is to protect the confidentiality and rights of individuals involved in research misconduct proceedings, handling allegations of research misconduct without bias, and preventing allegations of misconduct through responsible conduct of research education and advice.
- RCR Resources
- Professionalism and Integrity in Research (P.I. Program) – Washington University in St. Louis
- “The Lab” interactive movie on research misconduct – Office of Research Integrity
- "The Research Clinic” interactive training video on protection of research participants and avoiding research misconduct
- “Integrity in Scientific Research’” videos – Office of Research Integrity
- “RCR Responsible Authorship and Peer Review” – Columbia University
- Federal Agencies
- Conflict of Interest
WMed is committed to an environment that promotes honesty, objectivity, and transparency. In addition, federal regulations and accrediting agencies require the identification, management, and elimination of conflicts of interest and commitment. The COIC policy, GEN04, establishes principles and practices to minimize the potential for financial and other interests, and commitments to adversely affect medical school activities and research. The purpose of the COIC policy is to avoid the adverse impact of conflicts of interest and commitment in the learning and working environment, which includes all medical school activities in medical education, clinical care, research and scholarly activities, and community service, by providing guidelines for identification, review, management, and resolution of conflicts of interest and commitment.
Employed faculty, administrative directors, fellows, residents, staff, and individuals serving in a decision-making role on Standing Committees are required to disclose their conflicts of significant financial interests, commitments, and personal relationships on a continuing basis with annual attestation. Investigators participating in sponsored research and other research projects requiring Institutional Review Board, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and Institutional Biosafety Committee approval must disclose research conflicts of interest. Conflicts are identified and managed through established medical school processes.
All general and research conflicts of interest and commitment are managed by the associate dean for Administration and Finance (who serves also as the Chief Compliance Officer), the associate dean for Research, and the Research Integrity Officer.