The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is proud to announce the seven projects funded in fiscal year 2026. Led by teams at universities and research institutions across the country, these projects address some of the most pressing challenges facing the research community today, from AI-generated fake citations and research reproducibility to training for misconduct investigations and tools that assess research culture. Many will produce free resources, including screening tools, toolkits, and training materials, that institutions can put to use. Learn more about each project below, and be sure to visit our awards webpage for information on past awards.
ORI-IR-26-001: Research on Research Integrity (RRI)
Institution: The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
PI: Maxim Topaz, PhD, RN, FAAN
Project Title: Fabricated Citations in the Biomedical Literature: Measuring Prevalence, Triaging Evidentiary Impact, and Reducing Response Burden
Abstract: This 12-month project screens millions of biomedical papers published from 2020 through 2027 to measure how often AI-generated fake citations, references to studies that don't exist, appear in the published literature, using automated searches checked by human reviewers. It also tests how accurately these citations can be detected. The team will develop and validate a tool, rated by subject-matter experts, that helps journal editors judge how much a fake citation affects a paper's claims and whether the paper remains reliable, without making judgments about intent or misconduct. Working with editors and research integrity officers, the team will create a screening protocol, model policy language, and brief training, then test them in a real-world demonstration to see how well they catch problems, how often they raise false alarms, and how much staff time they require. All products, including a public dataset on the scope of the problem and a free open-source screening tool, will be available to the research community.
Institution: University of Maryland, College Park
PI: Min Qi Wang, PhD
Project Title: Developing a Gold Standard Framework for Data Reproducibility in Biomedical and Health Research
Abstract: This project develops and validates the Gold Standard Reproducibility Instrument (GSRI), a practical tool for assessing whether biomedical and health research follows practices that allow its findings to be checked and reproduced by others. Drawing on a review of existing research and input from stakeholders, the team will build a set of assessment items organized into seven areas: how data are documented and managed, how data are processed, statistical methods, computational methods, transparency and reporting, verification and research integrity, and the research culture that supports reproducibility. Considerations for research that uses artificial intelligence will be built into each area. A national panel of experts, including statisticians, data scientists, and research integrity leaders, will rate each item for importance and feasibility, and items will be kept or revised based on their consensus. The finished tool will help researchers, institutions, journals, and funders identify strengths and gaps in reproducibility practices.
ORI-IR-26-002: Conferences and Workshops Program (CWP)
Institution: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
PI: Shannon Stoker, J.D.
Project Title: The Future of Research Integrity: AI, Open Science, and Partnerships
Abstract: This project hosts The Future of Research Integrity: AI, Open Science, and Partnerships, a one-day conference that brings together research compliance staff, research administrators, faculty, students, and others to share practical ways to promote responsible research without adding unnecessary administrative burden. Through four interactive sessions led by subject-matter experts, participants will explore how compliance and sponsored programs offices can work together, how to use artificial intelligence responsibly in research, how to provide effective research integrity education for international students and scholars, and how open science and responsible sharing of results can strengthen public trust. The conference will also include group discussions and networking. Afterward, the team will share conference materials, a summary report, evaluation findings, and a published paper with recommendations, and will spread lessons learned and best practices through professional organizations and research administration networks so participants and others can apply them at their own institutions.
Institution: Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor UCLA Medical Center
PI: Rosemary Madnick, MBA
Project Title: Addressing Emerging Challenges in Research Integrity
Abstract: This project hosts Addressing Emerging Challenges in Research Integrity, a one-day conference led by the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation to help emerging research institutions across Southern California strengthen their research integrity programs. The conference will bring together about 125 investigators, research administrators, research integrity and compliance professionals, and institutional leaders from independent research institutes, universities, academic medical centers, and biotechnology partners. Through keynotes, expert-led sessions, panels, and group discussions, participants will focus on three areas: artificial intelligence and research integrity; data management, data integrity, and responsible data sharing; and international collaborations and research security. Rather than each institution building its own policies and training from scratch, participants will share practical strategies and resources they can adapt for their own organizations. Afterward, the team will make presentations, implementation guides, reference materials, and recorded sessions available in an online resource library, along with evaluation findings and a final report.
Institution: Trustees of Indiana University
PI: Amy Waltz, J.D.
Project Title: Finding the Facts: Equipping RIOs and Committees for Effective Interviewing in Research Misconduct Proceedings
Abstract: This project hosts a two-day national workshop to help Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) build their skills in conducting interviews during research misconduct investigations and in preparing the faculty committees who carry out those investigations. Experienced RIOs, federal oversight officials, and professionals from other investigative fields will lead hands-on sessions on interview requirements under federal regulations, planning and question development, assessing credibility, documenting interviews, handling difficult situations, and cultural and interpersonal considerations. Participants will practice these skills using a case study created for the event. A highlight will be a live mock interview, in which an actor plays the subject of a misconduct investigation and panelists from different investigative backgrounds question them in real time, showing how different approaches shape what is learned. Within three months, the team will release a free training toolkit with interview strategies, best practices, and case-study materials that RIOs can use to train investigation committees at their own institutions, and will share lessons learned nationally.
ORI-IR-26-003: Program Development and Evaluation (PDE)
Institution: New Jersey Institute of Technology
PI: Cesar Bandera, PhD
Project Title: PaperBasket: a Multi-Layer Knowledge Graph Platform for Detecting Academic Misconduct
Abstract: This project expands PaperBasket.org, a system developed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Leir Research Institute that screens research papers before peer review by comparing them against more than 4 million published papers. The team will build a large network that maps how papers, authors, institutions, and journals connect, both through direct links such as citations and co-authorship and through shared topics and research interests. A set of AI tools will then scan this network automatically to spot unusual patterns that may signal misconduct, such as fabricated references, citation manipulation, plagiarism, or fake authors. Because unusual patterns are not always wrongdoing, the team will also create a system in which human reviewers and AI work together to examine flagged cases, rule out innocent explanations, and identify genuine problems. The project will test the system on real-world cases and publish policy recommendations on how institutions and publishers can use tools like PaperBasket to catch misconduct early.
Institution: University Of Illinois
PI: William Barley, PhD
Project Title: From Snapshot to Insight: Validating a Rapid Assessment Tool for Research Integrity Environments
Abstract: This project further develops the Rapid Environmental Adjective Descriptor (READ), a short survey that takes less than two minutes and captures how people perceive the research integrity climate where they work. Using existing survey data, the team will confirm that READ results match those of longer, established research climate surveys and test whether it can also measure how well research teams work together. The team will compare different ways of combining individual responses to see which gives the most accurate picture of a whole research group. They will then build a prototype tool that uses AI to turn READ responses into an easy-to-understand report for each team, and test it with active research teams to see how well it works in practice. The goal is a quick, low-burden early warning tool that helps research teams reflect on their culture and helps institutional leaders spot environments that need support, as well as those that can serve as models, before problems arise.
