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GLOSSARY
Animal Subjects Any vertebrate animal used for teaching or research.
APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Beta Test Agreement Agreement for the testing cycle that follows the Alpha Test (alpha
testing is the first testing phase). Tests a pre-release version of a piece of software by
making it available to selected users for a system test with production data and
environments. Beta releases are generally made available to a small number of customers.
Biohazardous materials All infectious organisms (bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions,
viroids and viruses) which can cause disease in humans, animals, or plants, or cause
significant environmental or agricultural impact. In addition, work with materials that
may harbor infectious organisms, such as human or primate tissues, fluids, cells, or cell
cultures are also included. Other potentially biohazardous material includes the
following: recombinant DNA, genetically modified organisms (plants, animals, microbes
and other), any organisms requiring a federal permit.
Bio-safety The term used to describe the containment principles, technologies and
practices that are implemented to preempt unintentional exposure to potentially
biohazardous materials or the unintentional release of these same materials.
Carcinogens Any chemical, biological, or physical agent that can potentially be a cause
of cancer. The term is most commonly applied to chemicals introduced into the
environment by human activity. Researchers label a substance a carcinogen if it causes a
statistically significant increase in some form of neoplasm, or anomalous cell growth,
when applied to a population of previously unexposed organisms.
CDC Centers for Disease Control
Clinical Trial A contract supported by a corporation, generally a pharmaceutical
company, that involves evaluation by the university of the corporation’s technology or
product. Clinical trials almost always involve animal or human subjects.
COI Conflict of Interest
Conflict of Interest Any actual or potential conflicts related to significant financial
interests of investigators/co-investigators, graduate students who are participating in
sponsored research activities. An actual or potential "conflict of interest" exists when the
reviewer(s) reasonably determine that a "significant financial interest" could affect the
design, conduct, or reporting of the research and scholarship activities that are funded or
proposed for funding.
Contract A mechanism for procurement of a product or service with specific obligations
for both sponsor and recipient. Typically, a research topic and the methods for
conducting the research are specified in detail by the sponsor, although some sponsors
award contracts in response to unsolicited proposals. A contract is generally considered
to be for the benefit of the sponsor, and a grant is for the benefit of the recipient.
DHHS Department of Health and Human Services
Employee Assignment or Loaning The allocation of an employee’s appointment between
WSU and another entity.
Equipment An article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life
of more than one year and an acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the
capitalization level established by the institution for financial statement purposes, or
$5000.
Experimental Use Pesticides Experimental pesticides (non-registered active ingredients)
or experimental uses of registered pesticides (non-registered crop/site). Exemptions only
apply to laboratory testing of pesticides. Requirements are in place for all University
personnel at all locations who perform research using these items.
Federal Flow-Through Federal flow-through funds are funds from a federal sponsor that
come to the University through a third party. For example, if the National Institutes of
Health give the University of Washington a grant and the University of Washington
subcontracts some of the work involved in that grant out to the University, the funds in
that subcontract are federal flow-through funds.
Genetically modified organisms Include, but are not limited to:
 Animals, plants, invertebrates, and/or other organisms created by University
employees or in/on University property,
 Genetically modified whole plants (even those commercially available and not
requiring APHIS permits),
 Transgenic field trials, any genetically modified organisms to be introduced into the
environment (by University personnel and/or on University property),
 Field testing of plants engineered to produce pharmaceutical and industrial
compounds.
Grant A type of financial assistance awarded to an organization for the conduct of
research or other program as specified in an approved proposal. A grant, as opposed to a
cooperative agreement, is used whenever the awarding office anticipates no substantial
programmatic involvement with the recipient during the performance of the activities.
Hazardous Waste Solid, liquid, or gas wastes that can cause death, illness, or injury to
people or destruction of the environment if improperly treated, stored, transported, or
discarded. Substances are considered hazardous wastes if they are ignitable (capable of
burning or causing a fire), corrosive (able to corrode steel or harm organisms because of
extreme acidic or basic properties), reactive (able to explode or produce toxic cyanide or
sulfide gas), or toxic (containing substances that are poisonous). Mixtures, residues, or
materials containing hazardous wastes are also considered hazardous wastes.
Human Subjects Human subjects are individuals whose physiologic or behavioral
characteristics and responses are the object of study in a research project. Under federal
regulations, human subjects are defined as: living individual(s) about whom an
investigator conducting research obtains: (1) data through intervention or interaction with
the individual; or (2) identifiable private information.
IACUC – Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
IBC - Institutional Biosafety Committee
Intellectual Contribution To supply knowledge or reason towards the advancement of a
project.
Intellectual Property Invention, Copyright, Trademark and any Proprietary Information.
Intellectual Property rights and ownership are determined by the terms and conditions of
the agreement through which it was developed.
Investigator/Co-Investigator The individual(s) at the University who is responsible for
the scientific design, conduct or reporting of the sponsored project.
IRB Institutional Review Board
License Official or legal permission to do or own a specified thing.
Master Agreement A contract that controls the terms and conditions of subordinate
agreements or tasks.
Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) A material transfer agreement defines the terms
under which Research Material(s) are exchanged between investigators and institutions
and are to be used in research. MTA’s can apply to materials coming to the University or
materials owned by the University that are being transferred to researchers outside the
university.
Mutagens an external agent, for example, radiation or some chemicals or viruses, that
increases the rate of mutation of cells or organisms
Radiation University personnel who wish to use ionizing radioactive materials or
ionizing radiation machines in University facilities must obtain prior authorization from
the Radiation Safety Committee.
Research Compliance Issues related to US Federal Government regulations on handling
and dealing with Human Subjects, Animal Subjects, Bio-safety, Radiation, Hazardous
Waste, Experimental Use Pesticides, Conflict of Interest, Select Agents, Carcinogens,
Mutagens, and Teratogens.
Research Material A proprietary material together with any progeny, replications,
unmodified derivatives, or parts thereof.
Select Agents Select agents and toxins are regulated by the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Biological agents
and toxins (also known as high consequence livestock pathogens and toxins) are
regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The CDC and APHIS have coordinated their efforts and produced a combined list of
select agents and toxins. The list can be found at on the CDC website
(http://www.cdc.gov/) or the APHIS website (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/).
Significant Financial Interest Anything of monetary value, including, but not limited to,
salary or other payments for services (e.g., consulting fees or honoraria earned from
business enterprises or entities), equity interests in business enterprises or entities (e.g.,
stocks, stock options or other ownership interests), and intellectual property rights (e.g.,
patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights). For the purposes of calculating
"significant financial interest," an investigator must include corresponding interests of the
investigator's Spouse and dependent children.
Sponsored Project Any activity that receives funding from outside the University.
Sponsored projects may also be known as sponsored programs or sponsored agreements.
Subcontract A subcontract is an agreement in which the university transfers some of its
funds from a grant or contract to another institution in exchange for specific services. If,
for example, the University receives a grant from the National Institutes of Health, but
wants some of the research to be performed by the University of Washington, the
University would negotiate a subcontract with the University of Washington that
specifies the research to be performed and the amount of funding that will be transferred.
This situation would work in the reverse as well.
Teratogens A substance or agent in the external environment that can induce deformities
in a fetus if absorbed by the mother during pregnancy. Teratogens include some drugs
(notably alcohol and thalidomide), other chemicals, certain infectious disease organisms,
heat, and radioactivity.
USDA – US Department of Agriculture