Most Common Reasons for Projects to Fail to Qualify at Intel ISEF

1. Human, vertebrate animal, or PHBA studies that did not have preapproval

• Need IRB preapproval for human subjects studies
• Need SRC or IACUC preapproval for vertebrate animal studies
• Need SRC or IBC preapproval for PHBA studies

2. Prohibited Vertebrate Animal Studies

• Studies done at home/school/field that should have been done at a regulated research institution
• Studies that caused more than momentary pain or suffering or that were designed to kill
• Induced toxicity studies
• Predator/vertebrate prey experiments
• Studies where student performed euthanasia on a vertebrate animal
• Studies with an animal death in any group or subgroup due to the experimental procedures
• Studies where animals have a weight loss greater than or equal to 15%
• Studies where there was an inappropriate restriction of water or food
• Studies treated as embryonic studies that were actually vertebrate studies

3.  Prohibited Studies using Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (PHBA's)

• Microorganisms were cultured at home
• BSL-2 studies (including opening plates or containers of unknown microorganisms) done in a BSL-1 lab
• Studies using human and other primate estalished cell lines without SRC pre-review and approval

4.  Prohibited Human Subjects Studies

• Studies where the IRB required written documentation of consents which were not obtained
• Studies where the student used surveys/questionnaires without IRB pre-review and approval

5.  Eligibility Problems

• Student worked with a partner or team but competed as an individual, or vice versa
• Project was more than 1 year in length or was too old
• More than three students on a team

6.  Scientific Misconduct

• Plagiarism
• Student presented mentor’s research as his/her own
• Falsification of data

7. Other problems that may result in an FTQ

• Continuation study which was merely a repeat of a previous project conducted by the student
• Student removed or added items to the project display which he/she had been previously told to change