Iris Jenkins appointed director of the research integrity and consultation program
In collaboration with faculty, staff, and leadership, Jenkins will shape the education and outreach program to promote ethical excellence and facilitate ethical decision-making that impacts university scholarship.
Iris Jenkins. Photo by Kristina Rose for Virginia Tech
Iris Jenkins has been appointed director of the research integrity and consultation program in the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance, effective Aug. 1.
In her role, Jenkins will oversee the research ethics consultation service, serve as the university’s research integrity officer, and lead the campus research ethics and compliance training program. She will also coordinate a universitywide, comprehensive program of responsible and ethical research learning opportunities for Virginia Tech students, scholars, and researchers.
“We are delighted to welcome Iris Jenkins to the team,” said Lisa M. Lee, associate vice president for research and innovation. “She brings nearly two decades of combined research and compliance experience, which will enrich our efforts to infuse ethical decision-making into the innovative research conducted across Virginia Tech.”
In collaboration with faculty, staff, and leadership, Jenkins will shape the education and outreach program to promote ethical excellence and facilitate ethical decision-making that impacts university scholarship. She will coordinate Virginia Tech’s research ethics consultation service, which offers investigators a resource to work through options for handling ethics challenges that present in the conduct of research. Finally, she will handle reports of research misconduct.
“I believe the best research is research that is conducted responsibly and ethically,” Jenkins said. “I am enthusiastic about providing educational opportunities and resources that will assist Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students in doing their best research.”
Previously, Jenkins served in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Research Compliance Office, working with the Human Research Protection Program and on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. She is an active member of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, a nonprofit organization that advances ethical research through services and programs for the research oversight community. Jenkins served as its national speaker and advisor on their annual conference advisory group.
She earned a master’s degree in plant pathology from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
For questions about research misconduct, research ethics training, or to schedule a consultation, contact Jenkins at integrity@vt.edu.
