Frequently Asked Questions

A license will be needed if one is receiving, collecting, handling, using, storing, transferring and/or disposing of chemical or biological agents at any of the institution’s facilities or affiliated entities, or transporting specimens between buildings on or off campus. The license is to be displayed prominently in the research laboratory or approved area, listing all approved personnel.

Faculty status is required for all PIs. Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis by the VPR. Details may be found in TTUHSC El Paso OP 73.08 Requirements for PI Status. The PI accepts overall responsibility for directing the research and for complying with relevant policies.

Biohazards are infectious agents or hazardous biological materials that present a risk or potential risk to the health of humans, animals or the environment. The risk can be direct through infection or indirect through damage to the environment. Biohazardous materials include certain types of recombinant DNA; organisms and viruses infectious to humans, animals or plants (e.g., parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi, prions, rickettsia); and biologically active agents (e.g., toxins, allergens, venoms) that may cause disease in other living organisms or cause significant impact to the environment or community.

All PIs and research personnel who handle, transport off campus, and cause hazardous materials to be transported off campus are required to complete this training. Information is available at: ttuhscep.edu/safety/hazmatinfo.aspx

Training for the safe intra-campus transport of materials is required for compliance with TTUHSCEP OP 75.34.  Access to this training is obtained through Safety Services by emailing: Jacqueline.lomeli@ttuhsc.edu.

No, you must wait until you have received your IBC license.

iRIS is an electronic web-based research software that facilitates IACUC, IBC, and IRB submissions. Use of iRIS is mandated on the TTUHSC El Paso campus for all IBC submissions.

Lab Safety Essentials (LSE) Training: this is available at https://ttuhscep.edu/elpsafetyservices/training/admin/lse_admin.aspx and may be accessed by logging in and checking on the box to the right of the person's name, “I work in a lab.”  Once this box has been checked, the LSE training will populate.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Training: this is available at www.citiprogram.org. Please select question No. 5 under the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso affiliation.

Financial Disclosure Form: this is available through the COI module within iRIS and will need to be completed immediately after iRIS access has been granted. Guides to submit this form are available here.

You can affiliate your account with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso by visiting www.citiprogram.com and following the steps below.

  1. From the Main Menu on your profile, click on the link "Click here to affiliate with another institution."
  2. Type and choose the correct institution from the search box.
  3. Answer the member information questions required by your newly affiliated institution.
  4. Enroll in the course(s) required by your newly affiliated institution.

If you would like to receive credit for modules previously taken, there are several requirements that must be met.

  1. To transfer course credit between institutions, you will need to be affiliated with both institutions (your previous institution and your new institution). Follow the "Click here to affiliate with another institution" link on your Main Menu to add an affiliation.
  2. When you are affiliated with both institutions, enroll in the courses that need to be transferred under both institutions via the "Add a Course or Update Learner Groups" link under the appropriate institution if necessary. You will need to enroll in the same stage of the course (Basic/Refresher) for a proper transfer to occur.

Once you are enrolled in the courses, any modules that are shared between the courses between institutions will have their credit transferred automatically. The transfer is based on each module's unique ID number. If the courses do not match exactly, not all credit will transfer, and you may need complete the difference in modules at your new institution to get full credit for a Completion Report. If the course is set to expire soon, credit will not transfer and all modules will need to be completed.

What if I have completed this CITI training course previously?

Many institutions use the CITI program to administrate required training courses and the same course is often used between different institutions. If you have completed a specific course (or modules within a course) within the past two years then you will automatically receive credit for those portions when enrolling for the same course under the TTUHSC El Paso affiliation in CITI.

How do I transfer records of previous CITI course completions to TTUHSC El Paso?

Simply affiliate your CITI account with TTUHSC El Paso and enroll for the course under our section. Upon enrolling, you will automatically be granted credit for the courses or modules/portions of courses that you have completed in the past two years. Please note that the Course ID must match for credit to be transferred; similar training with different course numbers is not accepted and will not transfer.

Why did my CITI course completion from a different institution not transfer to TTUHSC El Paso?

If you have followed the steps above and credit has not transferred, it may be due to the following 
reasons:

  • The course completed at the other institution is not compatible with the TTUHSC El Paso
    version. This occurs when an institution opts for a highly customized course with institution specific content rather than the base course offered by CITI or simply uses a different base course with similar content. You will need to enroll for and complete our required course(s) in their entirety as these have been approved by our institutional bodies to comply with local/state/federal regulations.
  • Not all modules required for the course by TTUHSC El Paso have been completed. For some courses, TTUHSC El Paso requires completion of supplementary modules beyond the base course offered by CITI. If you have completed the base course at another institution within the past two years you will receive credit for those portions upon enrollment and need only complete the additional modules. Upon completion of these, you will receive a new certificate for the entire course valid for the full renewal period.
  • The course is expired or was completed more than two years ago. Due to the renewal periods set by our institution and federal regulations, training older than two years is not accepted for transfer to TTUHSC El Paso. 

CITI Course Transfer FAQ download

Your IBC license is valid for three years with annual renewals required.

No, a PI will hold one approved license, which will cover all related research activities.  All materials must be approved for use within the license.

Safety Services at 915-215-4820.

Yes, you must inform the IBC that you will be departing the Institution and will need to terminate your IBC permit. As soon as you find out that you will be leaving the Institution please notify the IBC by sending an email to amanda.ortiz@ttuhsc.edu with the anticipated departure date .This will allow for the Sponsored Programs and Safety Services to help assist you with any transporting issues if you plan to take agents with you and to perform a final walk through inspection of your laboratory.

137 Rick Francis Street
Medical Science Building II, Room 5A111 C
915-215-4295
Please contact the IBC/IACUC Lead Analyst, Amanda Ortiz at amanda.ortiz@ttuhsc.edu or 915-215-4295.