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Join your colleagues next week in celebration of the grand opening of the Center for Academic Research Excellence (CARE)/Crawley Building. This new research space features a nine-story atrium and seven glass bridges connecting new laboratories to the existing research power in the Medical Sciences Building.
Self-guided tours will follow a short presentation beginning at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. All are invited to attend the public ceremony, which will take place in the building’s atrium on the entrance level. For more information, e-mail care@uc.edu.
And, as always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to check out research.uc.edu.
Sandra Degen, PhD
Vice President for Research
NEWS/GRANTS
Gerlach Named IRB Director
Julie Gerlach, current chair of the social/behavioral section of UC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), has been named director of the IRB office. Gerlach received bachelor’s degrees in nursing and microbiology and a master’s in public health from the University of Florida, Gainesville. She spent a year studying in the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, where she focused on epidemiology and biostatistics in epidemiologic research with an emphasis on survival analysis, clinical trial design, survey design and chronic disease, infectious disease and genetic epidemiology. Before being named to UC’s IRB, Gerlach served on the IRB for Schulman Associates and as a regulatory affairs coordinator for Medpace Inc. She has held research, consultant and epidemiology positions with Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Procter & Gamble and UC’s emergency medicine department.
Hits to Gateway Near 1.5 Million
Researcher’s Gateway, which launched in spring 2008, has already recorded nearly 1.5 million hits. The most visited sections of the site include “eProfessional,” “My Protocols,” “Grant Opportunities” (prior to this link being separated into “Funding Opps” and “Grants”) and “Education and Training.” Users are also taking advantage of the electronic submissions available on the site. More than 470 modifications have been submitted or are in progress.
New Postdoctoral Funding Program Announced
The University Research Council is accepting applications for the new Postdoctoral Fellow Research Program. The program—designed to support the research of UC postdoctoral fellows—is open to all postdoctoral fellows at UC and affiliated institutions, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Shriners Hospitals for Children–Cincinnati. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m., Oct. 3, 2008, and will be evaluated on the scholarly merit of proposed activities and the capabilities of the principal investigator. Awards are limited to $5,000. Applicants are expected to present records of prior activity that indicate a devotion to scholarship and the potential for high-quality achievement. For more information, visit uc.edu/ucresearch. Questions should be directed to Linda Minton at linda.minton@uc.edu.
Sponsored Account Changes
Sponsored Research Services (SRS) strives to improve the administration of sponsored awards at UC. To continue this effort, SRS will initiate a change in the process for establishing a sponsored account. This change and detailed instructions regarding the A323 form will be discussed at the upcoming SRS quarterly business meeting at 2 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, in the Rieveschl Auditorium in the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies. A representative from each department should plan to attend. For more information about the A323 form, contact John Ungruhe at (513) 556-4817.
University-Wide Anonymous Reporting Hotline
As part of the University of Cincinnati’s commitment to ethics and compliance, UC has implemented an Anonymous Reporting Hotline to provide the university community with a simple, anonymous way to report activities that may involve illegal, unethical or inappropriate behavior in violation of UC policies. UC has selected EthicsPoint Inc., an outside vendor specializing in anonymous reporting line services, to manage the Anonymous Reporting Hotline. Reports of such acts may be reported via telephone or via a secured Web site and can be submitted anonymously. This anonymous reporting hotline is NOT intended to be a vehicle for reporting general complaints or matters involving student conduct. Members of the university community are still encouraged to utilize existing reporting mechanisms, such as one’s supervisor or other campus entities, as appropriate. In addition, UC has its tool, “UC is Listening,” that allows for reporting of general complaints or feedback. The Anonymous Reporting Hotline is an alternative for those in the university community who do not feel comfortable bringing a matter to one’s supervisor. The Anonymous Reporting Hotline (1-800-889-1547) is staffed 24/7 with live operators from EthicsPoint, or, alternatively, one may make a report via the Web at . The reporting Web page is also accessible from the Internal Audit Web page at uc.edu/af/internal_audit/. Please call the Office of Internal Audit at (513) 556-4310 with any questions.
IRB Consulting Services Continue
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) will continue to offer consulting services during the 2008–09 academic year. If you are new to research, unfamiliar with the IRB submission process or have questions regarding the IRB review of your research study, it’s suggested that you meet with the IRB consulting team before submitting your protocol to the IRB office. Medical researchers should schedule appointments with Carol Fabby at fabbyc@ucmail.uc.edu or Carolyn West at carolyn.west@uc.edu. Social and behavioral researchers should contact Fabby or Claudia Norman at claudia.norman@uc.edu. Learn more under the “Announcements” section on Researcher’s Gateway.
IND/IDE Reporting
As part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight for INDs/IDEs, a list of all current faculty holding INDs or IDEs as sponsor-investigators has been requested, along with IND/IDE numbers. Future FDA annual reports will need to be accompanied by monitoring/auditing reports from an independent auditor (someone not affiliated with the study) and should also have institutional endorsement. The compliance office urges all sponsor investigators to verify that their records are in order. If you have any concerns about your monitoring program or the paperwork please contact Joanne Lindwall at (513) 558-3576 or lindwaj@ucmail.uc.edu.
Gateway Offers Grant-Writing Tips
Check out the “Grants” link on Researcher’s Gateway to get tips on writing grants. The site offers links to a proposal checklist, budget forms, grant-writing workshop news and NIH submission information. You can also find grant opportunities on the Gateway by clicking on the “Funding Opps” link.
New Grants Awarded in August
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. There are several things you can do in 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 #8: Recycling Telephone Directories
Not long ago, Green Bit Tip No. 6 considered the savings in trees and the reduction in air, water and land pollution that would result if we were to cancel those many unsolicited chemical and scientific instrument catalogs we receive all the time. Well, wouldn’t you know it, just a few of weeks later there arrived at my departmental office two great heaps of unsolicited telephone directories, one white and the other yellow.
Every couple of years Cincinnati Bell showers us with this largess, whether we have asked for it or not. If you’re like me, you’re not using either of those tomes much anymore but are using the internet instead. ‘What of all those two-year-old, largely unused and still pristine white and yellow pages on my shelf, what of them?’ I asked our office manager. ‘Are there any plans to collect and recycle them?’ The answer, unfortunately, was “No, there aren’t any plans, just put them in the trash.”
So I have a modest proposal: Two years from now, before the next white and yellow avalanche strikes, the university should send out an email, well ahead of time, asking people whether they would like to receive those new directories. The idea here is that we would change the default condition from getting telephone directories to not getting them. It’s what Sunstein and Cass call a “nudge” in their new book by the same name. By nudge they mean something that may give rise to better behavior while still giving people complete freedom of choice. The university would then accept only as many new directories from the telephone company as people had requested. And by the way, the university should also require the telephone company to haul away and recycle the old ones. In the meantime, departments should consider recycling unwanted or outdated directories in bins around campus.
“Wait a minute,” I hear some bureaucrat cry, “isn’t there some sort of a regulation that requires the telephone company to distribute the white pages to everyone?” Students at the UC College of Law are already starting to look into that question and, if it turns out to be the case for the white pages, then let’s amend that regulation to read “free to those who want them.” And in the meantime, we can at least change the default for the yellow pages.
Finally, in fairness to the telephone company, we should act on this now so they can plan on how many fewer directories to print and how many fewer trees to sacrifice.
EVENTS
CCTST Open House
4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008
Suite 300, 10th Floor of Cincinnati Children’s Location S
The CCTST was established in 2005 as the academic home for clinical and translational research by David Stern, MD, College of Medicine dean and vice president of health affairs of UC. The center provides the Academic Health Center with research support services, including study design and biostatistical support, individual (K23) and institutional (T32) training grant preparation assistance, clinical and translational research training, and funding opportunities, including the Dean’s Scholars program. The CCTST also spearheaded the AHC’s preparation of a National Institutes of Health Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) proposal, currently under review. The CCTST is co-directed by associate deans for clinical and translational research James Heubi, MD, and Joel Tsevat, MD. For more information, contact Susan Swearingen, CCTST program manager, at (513) 803-1041 or susan.swearingen@uc.edu, or visit www.cctst.uc.edu.
Peer Review Challenges and Opportunities
4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008
Room 7051, Medical Sciences Building
Antonio Scarpa, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review, will visit the UC College of Medicine to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing peer review. Any interested faculty or staff member is welcome to attend the presentation. The presentation is sponsored by the College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Dayton, Miami University and Wright State University. For more information, contact Sunny Saelinger at (513) 558-0072.
Hot Topics—Human Subject Protection: Still Challenging After All These Years
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008
Registration must be received by Sept. 19. The fee for this event is $85, which includes lunch, refreshments and conference materials. Continuing education credits are available for a small additional fee. For more information, contact Carol Fabby at (513) 558-5620 or e-mail carol.fabby@uc.edu.
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Current Research Update
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