Protect Purdue > Researchers > Critical Research

Research Operations Guides

Resources ranging from summer employment and pay guidelines to cybersecurity tips and COVID-19 research funding opportunities — and more — are available on our Research Operations Guidance page.  

Campus Resources

From printable signage promoting social distancing and a new-normal handshake rule to CDC recommendations and e-learning resources, you can find a series of links, guides and downloads on our resources page.

Definition of Critical Research and Support Functions

Researchers in the Bindley Bioscience Center in Discovery Park work on ways to help the community meet the Protect Purdue challenge.

Research performed on the Purdue campus and at our locations across the state must comply with the Governor’s order. This means that laboratories should safely and responsibly ramp-down noncritical research in a manner that allows for all of our research activities to quickly ramp back up when restrictions are lifted.

When current social distancing (6 ft) and density (1 person per 120 sq. ft.) can be maintained, critical research and support functions in campus laboratories, agriculture centers, and field sites are defined as follows:

Critical Research:

  • Work that is directly related to preventing, containing, or treating COVID-19.
  • Work that is directly related to national security.
  • Work that if discontinued would pose a safety hazard.
  • Laboratory or field work that if discontinued would result in significant data or sample loss.
  • Longitudinal or seasonal work that if discontinued would result in significant data or sample loss.
  • Clinical trials or human subject research that if discontinued would result in significant negative impact on patient care or human health.
  • Seasonally dependent agricultural research that would have critical implications for human and animal health as well as food security.

Support Functions:

  • Research administration, regulatory, and support functions that are required by law.
  • Work that maintains critical animal populations.
  • Work that maintains critical plant populations, cell lines, and other living organisms.
  • Work that maintains critical samples, materials, and reagents.
  • Work that maintains critical equipment in facilities and labs, whether operational or in stand-by mode.
  • Work necessary to ramp-down noncritical research after March 25.

Principal investigators or facility/site directors who did not complete the online “Critical On-Campus Research Continuity Information Form” before May 17 but who wish to continue work that falls into one of more of the critical categories should contact Associate Vice President Chris Agnew (agnew@purdue.edu) for guidance.