Who can be a Principal Investigator (PI)?

Answer

The Campus Administrative Manual (CAM) defines who is permitted to be PI on human subjects research studies.  The policy describes individuals who are automatically eligible to be PI, individuals who can be PI with an additional sign-off by their academic college or institute, and individuals who are not permitted to be PI.  If someone who is not eligible to be a PI according to the policy, they must find someone willing to oversee their research as the responsible PI.  Then, the individual would need to be listed on the Research Team Form as a research team member.  

The PI Eligibility requirements have been divided into two CAM policies.  

RP-06 - Describes PI eligibility when the project has external funding

RP-19 - Describes PI eligibility when the project has no funding or is funded by internal (campus) sources

For eligible individuals that require additional sign-off by their academic college or institute, the PI Departmental Approval form should be signed and attached to the IRB application.  Additional details are listed on the PI Departmental Approval form including the required signatories.