Professional Resources

To help you prepare and submit proposals, we:

• Work with principal investigators and researchers to plan studies
• Assist with budget development and budget justification
• Complete all necessary budget forms
• Route proposal application through the Office of Sponsored Programs

In addition, we provide clinical trial coverage analysis to help you determine which items and services are billable to third-party payers or routine. Staff help assess financial and general feasibility of each study.

Our staff provides day-to-day support to help you handle the administrative aspects of managing a sponsored project. We can help with financial progress reports, no-cost extensions and carry-over requests, provisional account numbers, and budget revisions.

In addition, our team:

• Assists with salary distribution and reclass (recategorization)
• Identifies nonsalary reclasses to correct errors
• Advises administrators on direct charging of grant expenses between/to cost centers
• Supports setup of subcontracts, vendors and consultant agreements
• Ensures ancillary expenses and EPIC patient care charges are appropriate to study
• Assists with the final closeout of sponsored projects by verifying the final financial report and invoice prepared by office grants accounting
• Monitors expenses and project activities to ensure they comply with federal, state and institutional guidelines

Research noncompliance is failure to adhere to federal or state regulations, or violation of the Children’s research-related policies and procedures. Examples of noncompliance include, but aren’t limited to:

• Failure to obtain IRB approval for research 
• Coercion of human subjects 
• Billing of a health program (such as Medicaid or insurance carriers) for services covered under a research grant 
• Failure to conflict of interest 
• Failure to obtain/maintain informed consent when required 

To report noncompliance, please submit a noncompliance reporting form to the Children’s IRB. If you’d like to discuss potential noncompliance, call Emily Smotherman at 404-785-7146. Also, you may leave an anonymous message on the Compliance Hotline at 877-373-0126.

We perform not-for-cause and for-cause audits of studies conducted under the auspices of Children's, which allow us to evaluate and improve research study compliance and provide feedback to principal investigators, study staff and the IRB. In addition, these reviews identify opportunities for education and process improvement.

Download the noncompliance reporting form

Scientific misconduct is defined as engaging in deception or knowing misrepresentation in the proposing, performing or reporting of research, such as fabrication or falsification of research data and plagiarism.

If you believe an investigator or study personnel have committed scientific misconduct, please report the concern to Kristine Rogers at 404-785-1215. To leave an anonymous message, call the Compliance Hotline at 877-373-0126. All calls are logged and remain confidential.

When individual interests present real or perceived risks to the welfare and rights of human subject research and research integrity, we require full disclosure and openness of potential and actual conflicts of interest (both financial and nonfinancial). These instances must be reported, reviewed and managed.

This policy applies to the interests of all individuals conducting or reviewing research at or otherwise involving Children’s, in addition to their immediate family, and covers all actual, apparent, perceived or potential conflicts of interest. The investigator conflict of interest/disclosure statement must accompany the initial submission to the IRB.

Children's has eliminated the de minimis threshold of $5,000 for reporting financial interests. Any financial interest must be reported. The following financial interests in entities related to an investigator’s teaching, research, administrative or clinical duties at Children's must be reported, including:

• Payments for services including salary, consulting fees or honoraria
• Equity or ownership interest in a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, sole proprietorship or other form of entity; stock options or other financial interests
• Proprietary or other intellectual property rights, including but not limited to inventions, patent rights (including patent applications), licensing fees, trademarks, service marks, domain names, trade secrets, trade dress rights, formulas, designs, software, programming code, intangible rights in machines, compositions of matter and devices, techniques, processes, procedures, systems or formulations, copyrights or royalties
• Service as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee or other position of any sponsor or agency
• Any compensation whose value could be affected by the outcome of the research
• Sponsored travel

In August 2012, the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) required institutions to inform each investigator of their institution’s policy on financial conflicts of interest and the investigator’s responsibilities regarding disclosure of significant financial interests. The department also required each investigator to complete training on this policy every four years prior to engaging in research related to any Public Health Service (PHS) funded projects.

Children's will not submit a proposal, and an award cannot be issued to Children's until Children's has all investigators’ (key senior personnel) disclosure/conflicts of interest forms associated with a proposal on file. Researchers must complete conflict of interest training (through CITI) before beginning research activities, every four years.

• Review DHHS conflict of interest regulations
• Download conflict of interest or CITI training forms

Office of Research Compliance
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
1687 Tullie Circle
Atlanta, GA 30084
Fax: 404-785-9470

Staff

Emily Smotherman
Research Compliance Manager
404-785-7146

Dudley L. Moore Nursing and Allied Health Research Fund

For nurses and allied health professionals
This clinical research fund, created through a generous commitment from the Dudley Moore family, was established to foster new and grow existing pediatric translational research among Children’s nursing staff and allied health professionals. The fund supports research by respiratory therapists, clinical bedside nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other advanced practice clinicians—all complementing Children's other research efforts.

The Nursing and Allied Health Research Committee, comprised of Children's peers involved in research, reviews competitive applications and makes grant awards on a yearly cycle.

The Dudley L. Moore Nursing and Allied Health Research Fund is currently accepting funding applications. Submission deadlines are the first Friday in May and in October. Call Linda Riley, director of nursing research and evidence-based practice, at 404-785-9377.

Review the funding application and submission guidelines

Emory Egleston Children’s Research Center grants

For Emory faculty
Emory employees are eligible for funds through the Emory Egleston Children's Research Center (EECRC), which is funded jointly by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Emory University School of Medicine. For more information, contact Ron Joyner, M.D., at 404-727-5747.

You must be at least 18 years old. If you will be working with patient records or have patient contact, you may also be required to:

• Pass a criminal background check.
• Provide immunization records (HR will schedule appointment with occupational health).
• Complete the Children’s online New Employee Orientation (NEO).
• Complete Epic Training via online learning management tool (PeopleIQ).
• Complete online Human Subjects Protection Training (CITI).
• Have current CPR training.
• Complete IATA (shipping and handling training).

Process

Complete the Children's Non-Paid Position Onboarding Packet and the Information Technology Acceptable Use Form and email a scanned copy to the Research Educator, Terrell Faircloth (404-785-3535).

Children's credentialing services department is responsible for:

• Processing initial appointments and reappointments for physicians and allied health professionals in accordance with The Joint Commission and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) guidelines.
• Verifying hospital and managed care affiliation.
• Facilitating delegated credentialing audits for managed care plans that contract with Children's and The Children's Health Network (TCHN).

Forms

Non-Paid Position Onboarding Instructions packet

Information Technology Acceptable Use form

You must meet credentialing criteria and complete a scope of practice request form. For an application packet, contact Susan Guda, credentialing services, at 404-785-2198.

The ICJME defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (e.g., phase I trials), are exempt.

There are three options for clinical trials registration:

1. Individual, if the clinical trial takes place outside of Children's facilities in a private practice office. Individual accounts may be registered without Children's assistance.
2. Children's (as an organization account), if you’re a Children's employee or a member of Children's medical staff. Ask the Children’s research coordinator assigned to the study to complete registration. If no one is assigned to the study, contact Karen Querubin [link to karen.querubin@choa.org], clinical trials registration administrator, at 404-785-2215.
3. Emory University (as an organization account), if you’re an Emory faculty member.