Leadership role
Principal Investigator
Designs and leads research studies in a scientific or scholarly field.
Reporting and scope
Reports to a department chair, Director of Research or VP of Research. Authority covers the investigator's funded studies, lab and research team.
Core responsibilities
- Designs studies and writes grant applications to federal agencies and foundations
- Leads the lab or project team, including postdocs and research staff
- Manages award budgets and complies with sponsor terms
- Ensures IRB, animal care and research integrity requirements are met
- Publishes results and presents at scientific meetings
- Reports progress and outcomes to sponsors
How it differs
The Director of Research manages a research unit and its portfolio, while the Principal Investigator leads specific awards. The VP of Research and Chief Science Officer set institution-wide research strategy. Professor / Faculty covers teaching roles that may or may not include research.
By organization size
At independent research institutes a PI's salary may be funded largely by grants. At large institutions senior PIs may direct multi-site centers.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Chief Research Officer; Principal Investigator; Senior Research Scientist; Sr. Research Scientist; Sr Research Scientist