Principal Investigator and Study Resources

Mentor/PI Responsibilities

Faculty mentors are expected to:

• Define the student's responsibilities and learning objectives.
• Ensure assigned duties remain within the student's approved volunteer scope.
• Provide appropriate study-specific training and supervision for assigned activities.
• Meet with the student weekly or biweekly to review progress, answer questions, and provide mentorship.
• Notify CTSI-RAP before making substantive changes to a student's responsibilities or scope of duties.
• Ensure applicable UCLA, UCLA Health, IRB, privacy, safety, and study-specific requirements are followed.
• Work with the student to identify an annual research-related deliverable.

Student Responsibilities

CTSI-RAP students are expected to:

• Maintain their required weekly research commitment.
• Complete all required onboarding and training.
• Perform only activities included within their approved volunteer scope.
• Follow UCLA Health, research, privacy, safety, and study-specific requirements.
• Communicate regularly with their PI, mentor, and study team.
• Complete an annual research-related deliverable.

Annual Research Deliverable

At the end of each year in the CTSI-RAP program, students complete a research-related deliverable selected in consultation with their PI or mentor based based on the student’s responsibilities and learning objectives. 

• Examples may include: 
• slide presentation
• research abstract
• literature map
• infographic or visual explainer
• annotated bibliography
• 1–2 page research summary

After submission, each study will be reviewed to confirm that the proposed volunteer responsibilities are appropriate and fall within the approved volunteer scope of duties. Studies must also meet applicble CTSI-RAP and Volunteer Office requirements before students may begin research activities. 

Once all required approvals are complete, the PI will receive a CTSI-RAP approval notice confirming that the study has been approved for volunteer participation.

If a study is selected for student placement, the next phase may include group interviews with prospective CTSI-RAP students before a final placement is established.

Depending on the research project, approved activities may include:

Research and administrative support 

Students may assist with:

• Literature searches and reviews
• Article summaries and bibliographies
• Research presentation and poster preparation 
• Preparation of approved study materials
• Research-related meetings
• Other approved non-sensitive project support, such as assisting in building a database without any PHI

Data and analytical activities 

Students may assist with:

• Working with approved de-identified datasets
• Data quality checks
• Descriptive analyses and visualizations
• Coding qualitative data
• Supporting R or Python scripts
• Educational AI/ML/LLM exploratory work

Clinical research support 

Students may assist with:

• Distributing IRB-approved recruitment materials 
• Providing approved study information
• Assisting with certain consent activities under direct supervision
  • Volunteers cannot consent participants or sign a consent 
• Administering surveys
• Supporting participant research workflows and reminders 
• Approved research data entry
• Assisting with structured screening activities

Basic laboratory activities

Students may assist with:

• Observing laboratory procedures and, when appropriately trained and approved, assisting with non-hazardous laboratory activities.
• Some activities will require WorkSafe training and IBC authorization

Participant and project support

Students may assist with:

• Greeting or guiding participants
• Approved non-PHI communications
• Community-based research outreach
• Other approved participant-facing research activities

Observation

Students may observe research interventions or procedures when necessary for their assigned duties and learning objectives, subject to applicable restrictions.

Important: Specific activities may require IRB approval, additional training, direct supervision, or other UCLA authorization before the student may perform them.

CTSI-RAP students are volunteers and must not be used to replace paid staff or perform responsibilities that are primarily associated with a paid employee role. 

Student responsibilities must remain within the approved volunteer scope of duties. Activities outside that scope must be reviewed by CTSI-RAP before they are assigned.

Examples of activities that may be prohibited or restricted include:

• Duties outside the student's approved volunteer scope
• Serving as a PI's or study team's personal or administrative assistant when the duties are unrelated to the student's approved research role
• Independent clinical decision-making
• Providing hands-on patient care
• Performing activities that require professional licensure or credentials the student does not possess
• Performing unapproved activities involving PHI or identifiable information
• Independently performing research procedures requiring direct supervision
• Assuming responsibilities primarily performed by a paid employee
• Be substituted as a solution for the current “hiring freeze”, please check with HR and the Redeployment Office if you have staffing issues or hiring issues. 
• Resemble any type of training, clinical work, medical services, or work that the volunteer may expect monetary compensation in the future (i.e. trial periods before being hired, to start working before being hired, or to perform unpaid work or services until being hired). 
• Have shifts that are on an “on-call” or sporadic basis. Shifts for an assignment should be consistent and predictable (i.e. weekly, biweekly basis, etc.)
• Replace, resemble, or supplant a paid position (including work-study or part-time paid positions).
• As a means to continue ongoing or previously initiated projects, research, or work. 
• Conduct more than 6 hours/day and/or 20 hours/week for all UCLA Health Sciences programs including volunteer programs from UCLA Health System. 
• Study teams should contact CTSI-RAP before assigning new or substantially different responsibilities to a student.

For more information about UCLA Health volunteer guidelines click here

CTSI-RAP students may use approved UCLA systems and devices appropriate to their assignments and may work with de-identified research data within their approved scope.

If a project requires access to Protected Health Information (PHI) or identifiable data, additional requirements apply. The PI is responsible for ensuring HIPAA requirements are followed. 

PHI access is permitted only on UCLA-owned devices from UCLA Health Sciences premises. Projects involving foreign-national volunteers must also receive applicable Export Control clearance.

Access should be limited to the systems and information necessary for the student's approved research responsibilities.

Faculty may also choose to provide clinical shadowing opportunities in accordance with the UCLA Health Clinical Observers and Shadowers Policy (HS 0360).

Shadowing is strictly observational. Students may not provide hands-on patient care or perform clinical duties. 

Shadowing must:

• Begin only after required onboarding and Volunteer Office clearance.
• Occur while the student is actively enrolled in CTSI-RAP.
• Be arranged in advance for specific dates and times, with the schedule provided to CTSI-RAP.
• Be specific to an approved department or specialty.
• Not serve as a formal clinical rotation,  training program, or credited course.
• Take place in person. Remote or virtual clinical shadowing is not permitted.

Clinical shadowing hours do not count toward the student's minimum CTSI-RAP research volunteer commitment. Shadowing hours are separate from, and in addition to, the student's research assignment.

Faculty researchers interested in mentoring a CTSI-RAP volunteer should be prepared to provide a structured educational experience that includes:

• Clearly defined research responsibilities 
• Appropriate supervision
• Regular mentorship
• Meaningful learning objectives
• An annual research-related deliverable 

CTSI-RAP can support student placement in a range of research environments, including clinical, data-focused, laboratory, community-based, and research administration settings, provided the student’s responsibilities comply with applicable UCLA, UCLA Health, IRB, privacy, safety, and volunteer requirements.

APPLY TO MENTOR A CTSI-RAP STUDENT

If your submission is approved please be prepared to engage in a brief interview process with the CTSI-RAP student(s) best matched to your study. Alternatively, you may choose to have our team provide you with the best matched CTSI-RAP student(s).

If you have any questions, please contact our program administrators below.

Gabriela Werre, M.S.H.C.D, PMP, CPT
Program Manager, CTSI Research Volunteer Program
GWerre@mednet.ucla.edu

Brisa Garcia
Program Manager, CTSI Workforce Development Programs
BrisGarcia@mednet.ucla.edu