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Research Faculty and Staff,
At the beginning of last month we were just starting to consider how a proposed economic stimulus plan could provide an infusion of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and other funding agencies important to scientific and biomedical research.
We now know that has become a reality and many funding agencies—particularly the NIH—are working quickly to deliver these funds to researchers through, new R01 grants, instrumentation grants, a new Challenge Grant program, and award supplements.
It’s extremely important that you pay close attention to funding opportunities, contact program directors and apply for available grants.
Please visit www.nih.gov/recovery/index.htm to learn more about plans at the NIH and continue to check for updates to the “Grants” page on Research’s Gateway. In addition, a PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Chip Montrose on “Pointers on Writing NIH Shared Instrument Grants (SIG)” will soon be posted on Research’s Gateway.
As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to check out research.uc.edu.
Sandra Degen, PhD
Vice President for Research
NEWS/GRANTS
Keep Lab Safety in Mind
A recent incident in a laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles, reminds us all that safety in laboratories is paramount. Please take a moment to review safety procedures with those in your lab or research facility and make sure everyone is up to date on necessary safety training. Laboratory safety resources can be found on Environmental Health & Safety’s Web site at http://ehs.uc.edu/.
Monthly Research Data Available on Gateway
It’s important—particularly in difficult funding times—to monitor progress of sponsored research awards and expenditures. Monthly reports for the university and each college are available on Researcher’s Gateway under the “Grants” link. Data for fiscal year 2009 (July through December) shows a 5.5 percent increase in expenditures over the same period in fiscal year 2008—with engineering and pharmacy showing the greatest expenditure increases. Totals are still being figured for January and February. Funding is still down slightly over fiscal year 2008, but that gap has been reduced. Awards to the College of Allied Health Sciences for the first half of fiscal year 2009 have already exceeded the funding that college received for all of fiscal year 2008. Applied science, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and Raymond Walters are all showing increases over the same fiscal year 2008 reporting period. Proposal submission remain on par with fiscal year 2008.
Institutional Review Board Reminder About Unanticipated Problems
Researchers are responsible for reporting unanticipated problems involving risks to subjects or others to the IRB within 10 days of learning of the event. Failure to report unanticipated problems within 10 days of learning of the event risks suspension or termination of IRB approval. Events resulting in temporary or permanent interruption of study activities to avoid potential harm to participants should be reported immediately (within 48 hours) whenever possible. A list of unanticipated problems involving risks to participants and others can be found in Human Research Protection Program Policy, Number II.02. “Reporting to the IRB: Unanticipated Problems in Human Subjects Research.” Event report forms can be found at http://researchcompliance.uc.edu/irb/.
URC Announces Interdisciplinary Grant Winners
The University Research Council (UCR) has awarded seven grants—each totaling approximately $25,000—through its fall interdisciplinary grant competition. The intent of this program is to bring faculty together from across the university to work on an interdisciplinary research project that will result in applications to federal granting agencies. Thirty-seven proposals were submitted from a total of 130 faculty representing seven of UC’s 16 colleges, including allied health sciences, arts and sciences, applied science, business, DAAP, engineering and medicine. Pediatric faculty working through Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation were also represented. See a complete list of grant winners and projects at http://www.uc.edu/News/NR.aspx?ID=9715.
Call for Spring 2009 Interdisciplinary Grant Applications
Applications are now being accepted for the spring 2009 Interdisciplinary Faculty Research Support Program from the University Research Council. Up to four $25,000 grants will be awarded. This program is designed to support pilot research projects that are part of a collaborative effort between faculty in two or more disciplines. The goal is for these projects to eventually earn national funding. Proposals will be evaluated based on the scholarly merit of the proposed activities, innovativeness of the proposed interdisciplinary program, capabilities of the principal investigators, how the funds will be used as seed money for the collection of preliminary data and future efforts to obtain funds from other sources. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, April 3. Application instructions and materials can be found at uc.edu/ucResearch/funding_opportunities.html. For more information, contact Linda Minton at linda.minton@uc.edu.
Revised and Expanded Clinical Research Orientation Program
In response to your feedback, we’ve revised and expanded the Clinical Research Orientation Program offered for the past five years. While the past program was well attended and well received, you said half-day sessions and additional courses would better suit your needs, so we now offer three half-day sessions. Additionally, we are offering this program more frequently and you can now register online. Sessions are offered both in the morning (8 a.m. to noon) and afternoon (1 to 5 p.m.). Access course descriptions and registration information.
NIH Implements New Registration Process for Reviewer Reimbursement
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has introduced a new, simplified and secure registration process for reviewers to receive reimbursement and honoraria for their valued participation in NIH peer review meetings. The new registration system replaces the U.S. Treasury Central Contract Registration (CCR) system that the NIH used until May 2008 to facilitate these disbursements. Registration in the new NIH system is required for the NIH to process reviewers’ honoraria and reimbursements for expenses related to their participation in NIH peer review meetings. More information at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-033.html.
Two New IRB Presentations
Researchers now have access to two new presentations on working with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in approving research that involves human participants. One covers the roles and responsibilities of both the IRB and the researcher in approving research involving human participants. The other specifies how to submit information to the UC IRB for review and approval. Both presentations are applicable to biomedical and social and behavioral research. These presentations will be offered periodically throughout the year. You may also arrange to have the presentations delivered at a departmental meeting or in the classroom. Links for online registration can be accessed at http://webcentral.uc.edu/researchetc/irboverview.cfm.
Apply Now for 2009 Grant-Writing Workshops
Applications are still being accepted for several grant-writing workshops. Sessions coming up in April include:
Write Winning Grants Seminar
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tangeman University Center (TUC), Great Hall
NIH Career Development Award Seminar (NIH K Awards and F32s)
8:30 a.m. to noon, Thursday, April 9, 2009
Rieveschl Auditorium, Vontz Center
Register by March 31
NSF CAREER Award Seminar
1 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, April 9, 2009
Rieveschl Auditorium, Vontz Center
Register by March 20
Write Winning Revisions
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2009
Rieveschl Auditorium, Vontz Center
Application materials and eligibility details are available at www.uc.edu/ucResearch/GrantWritingWorkshop.html.
OVALS Conference April 2–3
The Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences (OVALS) annual conference will be held April 2–3 at the Dayton Marriott Hotel in Dayton. Day one of the conference features a technology poster competition, exhibits and networking opportunities, followed by a dinner and keynote presentation titled “Diseases That Will Drive Future Technology and Opportunity” by Michael Parkinson, MD, executive vice president and chief health and medical officer of Lumenos. Day two includes a full day of presentations on topics related to technology trends and opportunities in the areas of nanoparticles, medical devices, biosafety technologies and stem cell technology. The OVALS Conference is sponsored by UC, Wright State University, University Kentucky, University of Louisville, Ohio University, Air Force Research Laboratory, CincyTechUSA, Bluegrass Business Development Partnership, Edison Biotechnology Institute and the Indiana Health Industry Forum. Faculty and graduate students are encouraged to submit posters for the competition. For more information or to register, visit www.ovalsgroup.org, or contact Dorothy Air at (513) 263-2723. A limited number of complimentary registrations are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
New Grants Awarded in February
Writing winning grants is tough. We understand the hard work that goes into preparing a proposal and want to make sure that effort doesn’t go unnoticed. Check out your great work—and that of your colleagues—at uc.edu/ucresearch/new_grant_winners.html.
GREEN BITS
The university, as part of the Green Partnership for Greater Cincinnati, is working collaboratively with four other major organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area to reduce its carbon footprint. The coordinator for the group works in the MSB and is looking for opportunities in our labs and offices to improve energy and waste management. Research Update—with the help of Eric Gruenstein, PhD, professor of molecular genetics—provides monthly “greening” tips for research faculty and staff.
Tip #12: Two Bits Here, Two Bits There: It All Adds Up
The little things I try to do around home and around the lab to reduce my energy consumption feel a lot like voting in a national election. It’s hard to believe when I go to the polls on election day that what I’m doing makes any difference at all. In my head I know that if I stayed home it wouldn’t really change the outcome. But in my heart I also know that if lots of people acted on that same feeling it could make all the difference in the world.
The same thing happens when I’m screwing in a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) or turning off my office lights on a sunny day. In my head I know it doesn’t have a significant impact on global warming. Even in my heart I’m not yet sure that there are enough people screwing around (with compact fluorescent light bulbs) to change that. At least with an election there’s immediate feedback so the next day we know who won (unless we’re from Minnesota).
Thus it was with considerable pleasure that I recently found some interesting information about what’s going on in California. Over the past 30 years, while electricity consumption per capita has gone up by 60 percent in the United States, it has stayed flat in California. If the rest of the country had adopted California’s energy efficiency actions, we wouldn’t have to build any more power plants—ever.
Jim Rogers, the CEO of Duke Energy, has called “efficiency” the fifth fuel, along with petroleum, coal, nuclear and alternative energy. The people and industries of California have simply become less wasteful and more efficient in their use of electricity. In part this is because of state energy efficiency standards for things like appliances and rules governing new construction. But in part it is also because individual Californians have responded to a variety of nudges that induced them to install more energy efficient refrigerators, water heaters, air conditioners, windows, and, yes, even light bulbs. So, although electric rates in California are the highest in the country, the monthly electric bills of its citizens aren’t any higher and their lifestyles certainly aren’t any less than the rest of us. But they do emit only about half as much CO2 into the atmosphere and they’re well on their way toward a sustainable energy future. In some quarters this has come to be known as Californication and clearly we could use more of it.
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