Research Integrity
University Health Network (UHN) is committed to supporting a research environment based on freedom of enquiry within the framework of integrity and accountability. It is our joint responsibility to ensure the highest standards are maintained in all of our research activities.
The Research Quality Integration (RQI) team is available for consultation if you have any questions about the regulatory environment or research best practices.
Researcher Responsibilities
As a researcher at UHN, it is your responsibility to conduct your research responsibly and to report in good faith any possible breaches of the Responsible Conduct of Research Policy (PDF will download after clicking).
The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for supervising all research under his/her direction. These duties include study design, training, delegation of duties, ethics approval and consent, and data acquisition, transfer, storage and analysis. Also, PIs review all publications for accuracy, disclosures, and appropriate authorship before submission to conferences for presentation, or scientific journals for publication.
All primary data must be original, validated, and finalized before analysis. The results and figures in grant applications, conference presentations and scientific manuscripts must agree with the primary data. A representative figure should not reflect the best case, rather, the average case.
The PI is also responsible for the secure storage of research data. The data retention policies may vary according to internal requirements, or the requirements of other collaborating organizations or funding agencies. It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that all appropriate guidelines are followed.
Conflict of Interest
In keeping with its commitment to maintaining public confidence in research, UHN has developed a Conflict of Interest of Research Personnel Policy (PDF will download after clicking) as well as a central administrative relationship management policy, that outlines UHN’s processes for managing relationships in conflict of interest.
A conflict of interest is an activity or situation that places a researcher or institution in a real, perceived, or potential conflict between their duties or responsibilities related to research and their personal, institutional or other interest. A conflict of interest may include a significant financial interest.
Relationships that may be in a conflict of interest are subject to routine review and may be presented to UHN’s Relationship Management Committee or Research Relationship Management Sub-committee. For more information on these processes, visit the UHN Relationship Disclosure and Management Program intranet page (internal connection required).
Policies & Education
All research personnel must, during their training, review UHN research integrity policies. Similarly, there is a Responsible Conduct of Research E-learning module available (requires internal connection).
Our research integrity policies are aligned with similar policies from Canada’s Tri-Agencies, as well as the United States of America Office of Research Integrity. They include the following policies (an internal connection is required to access the documents):
- 40.90.001 Responsible Conduct of Research (PDF will download after clicking)
- 40.60.001 Research Authorship (PDF will download after clicking)
- 40.90.002 Conflict of Interest of Research Personnel (PDF will download after clicking)
- 1.30.009 Administrative: Relationship Attestation & Disclosure
- 40.50.004 Research: Data Ownership, Stewardship & Security of Health Information
Reporting Research Misconduct
If you have general concerns related to your research conduct or the research conduct of others, please contact us at integrity@uhnresearch.ca, or directly contact a member of the Research Integrity team below.
Research Quality Integration
- Ms. Katie Roposa, Director; kroposa@uhn.ca; 416-581-8647
- Ms. Christine Snidal, Manager, Research Integrity and Responsible Conduct, christine.snidal@uhn.ca, 416-624-3431
Research Integrity Advisors
- Dr. Sharon Walmsley; Sharon.walmsley@uhn.ca; 416-534-3871
- Dr. Eleanor Fish; En.fish@utoronto.ca; 416-565-0702
- Dr. Jordan Feld; Jordan.Feld@uhn.ca; 416 340 4584
Research Integrity Statistics at UHN
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Concerns | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 21 |
Inquiries Commenced | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Inquiries Completed | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Investigations Commenced | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Investigations Completed | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Research Misconduct Confirmed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Nature of Research Misconduct Confirmed | N/A | N/A | N/A | Material non-compliance with accepted standards | Material non-compliance with accepted standards | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Fabrication/ Falsification |
Cases Closed | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
These statistics are for complaints over which UHN had jurisdiction. If a complaint is filed against a person whose primary appointment is not UHN, jurisdiction over the complaint is determined in consultation with the relevant institutional officials and according to policy 40.90.001 Responsible Conduct of Research (PDF will download after clicking).