Eligibility Requirements for a Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator (PI) eligibility is different for a protocol versus a grant. Therefore, there are separate, but related, criteria to determine eligibility for these activities.

PI on a Grant Application

If an individual is an elected* member of the UVa faculty he/she may also serve as Principal Investigator on a research grant. The only exception to this is if the application is for an Individual Fellowship Application or the PI is from an outside company for which an IRB Authorization Agreement is in place.

PI on a Protocol

An individual may be a PI on a protocol if they are an elected* member of the UVa faculty or a staff member (including residents and fellows). Students are NOT allowed to be the PI of a protocol. A student must have a faculty member serve as the PI on their protocol. The student would be listed as either the Study Coordinator or a sub-investigator.

*  More information may be found at  http://www.virginia.edu/provost/docs_policies/appointments.html

If additional questions remain, the person should communicate with the chair of the department where their appointment resides to determine if he/she has the clinical and administrative privileges to be the Principal Investigator on a Grant or Protocol.