On August 25, 2011, HHS published a final rule on the Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for which Public Health Service (PHS) Funding is Sought and Responsible Prospective Contractors. The final rule revises 1995 standards on this subject in order to “update enhance the objectivity and integrity of the research process” and provide “a framework for identifying, managing, and ultimately avoiding investigators’ financial conflicts of interest.“ Among other thing, the rule revises: the definition of significant financial interest (SFI); modifies the extent of investigator disclosure (including lowering the monetary threshold at which SFI requires disclosure, generally from $10,000 to $5,000, and requiring investigators to disclose to their institutions all of their significant financial interests related to their institutional responsibilities); changes the information reported to the PHS awarding component and made accessible to the public; and updates investigator training requirements. An institution applying for or receiving PHS funding covered by the rule must be in full compliance with the regulatory requirements no later than August 24, 2012; and immediately upon making its Institutional Financial Conflict of Interest policy publicly accessible, as described in the rule.  Additional information about the rule is available at the National Institutes of Health website.