UCR Research and Economic Development Newsletter: September 15, 2017

Michael Pazzani

Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development

Back Issues of Newsletter: http://research.ucr.edu/vcr/newsletters.aspx

Grant Opportunity Search: http://pivot.cos.com

· Welcome to Research and Economic Development Newsletter

· UAV Lunch: Oct 23

· Policy Changes Impacting NIH-funded Studies Involving Human Subjects

· Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Grand Challenges Explorations

· Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science

· Hurricane Impacted Birds

Welcome to Research and Economic Development Newsletter

This newsletter is sent out by the Office of Research and Economic Development with the goal of informing faculty about trends in research, funding, and internal funding opportunities and encouraging collaborations across the university. Research and Economic Development Website: https://research.ucr.edu contains information on Sponsored Projects (for submitting all grant proposals), Research Integrity (For research involving human subjects, animals, etc), Technology Commercialization (for assistance with patenting, licensing, and new company formation), and Research Development (for assistance with proposal strategy)

Here are a few resources of particular interest:

Research Funding

Here are a few resources at UCR that new faculty may wish to explore:

· Identifying Funding Opportunities. We use COS Pivot, http://pivot.cos.com a service that collects grant opportunities from the federal government. If you have a UCR email address, you can create an account on Pivot. It is easy to do, but if you like instruction, they are available at. http://research.ucr.edu/ord/funding/search-engines/pivot.aspx. In addition to searching for funding opportunities, Pivot allows one to save a search and emails you with new opportunities

· Electronic Campus Approval Form: http://cnc.ucr.edu/ecaf/quick_start.html UCR submits over 1500 proposals a year and has a streamlines electronic approval process for proposal submission.

· Cayuse: http://research.ucr.edu/spa/electronic-research-administration/cayuse.aspx Cayuse is an electric system that facilitates creations, submission and collaboration on proposals. UCR uses it for all federal proposals that are submitted through grants.gov, including NIH proposals. While Cayuse and grants.gov can submit NSF proposals, nearly all NSF proposals are submitted through Fastlane https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/

Research Integrity:

· Institutional review boards (IRBs) UCR has two IRBs. A social-behavioral IRB and a clinical IRB. The IRBs are required by federal regulations to review all human subjects research conducted on behalf of the institution. IRB review is required for both funded and non-funded human subject research.

· Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) which oversees all research and care involving vertebrate animals.

· Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) functions as the local review body responsible for oversight of research activities, including teaching laboratories, involving the use, storage and handling of biohazardous materials

· Promoting Research Objectivity (PRO) is charged with reviewing investigator statements of financial interest related to their sponsored research activities and determining whether a conflict of interest management plan is warranted after review of all the facts and circumstances.

· Stem Cell Research Oversight (SCRO) Committee reviews activities involving human stem cell research, regardless of the type of stem cells or whether the stem cells are adult or embryonic.

Forms to have protocols/research approved by these committees may be found at https://research.ucr.edu/about/forms/research-integrity-forms.aspx

Technology Commercialization

The Office of Technology Partnerships assists faculty and students with patenting inventions, licensing technology and forming companies. See https://www.ucreduotp.net/ for me information and details.

UAV Lunch: Oct 23

Research and Economic Development hosts lunches to get together faculty from different colleges working on related problems. If you have an idea for a topic, please notify me.

We’ll start this year with a lunch on Oct 23 starting at noon in UOB 210 with the topic of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) in research and education. If interested, please sign up at. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/research-lunch-tickets-37958335403

The lunches are catered by a local Thai restaurant and include vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Policy Changes Impacting NIH-funded Studies Involving Human Subjects

If you are conducting NIH-funded research that involves human subjects, or are considering applying to NIH for support of such research, we want to call your attention to important changes that may affect how you:

select the right NIH funding opportunity announcement
write the research strategy and human subjects sections of your application
comply with appropriate policies and regulations

First, familiarize yourself with the new PHS Human Subject and Clinical Trial Information form. For application due dates of January 25, 2018, and beyond, you will be required to use an updated application forms package (FORMS-E), which includes the new human subject and clinical trial form. This form requests human subject and clinical trials information at the study level using discrete form fields, which is a change from current practice. Contract proposals will also require this information. Learn about the new form here: https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials/new-human-subject-clinical-trial-info-form.htm.

Second, take a moment to answer these four questions about your current or proposed research:

1) Does the study involve human participants?

2) Are the participants prospectively assigned to an intervention?

3) Is the study designed to evaluate the effect of the intervention on the participants?

4) Is the effect that will be evaluated a health-related biomedical or behavioral outcome?

If the answer to all four questions is yes, then your proposed research meets the NIH definition of a clinical trial (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-015.html). Clarified and broadened in 2014, the definition encompasses a wide range of trial types: mechanistic, exploratory/developmental, pilot/feasibility, behavioral, and more. NIH expanded the clinical trial definition in response to widespread calls from diverse stakeholders for improved reporting of research milestones and outcomes, and for assuring maximal transparency.

Need help determining whether your study would be considered by NIH to be a clinical trial? See our webpage on the definition (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials/definition.htm) that includes case studies, FAQs and other resources that can help. Still unsure? Contact your NIH program official or the scientific point of contact listed on the funding opportunity announcement to which you are applying.

Third, familiarize yourself with NIH policy changes related to enhancing stewardship of clinical trials.

NIH made a number of policy changes to improve the stewardship of clinical trials across the life cycle of the trial. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with all that is changing, including:

the requirement to apply to an FOA that specifically allows for the submission of clinical trial applications for due dates beginning January 25, 2018.
Good Clinical Practice training expectations for NIH staff, grantees, and contractors that went into effect January 2017.
updated peer review criteria that will be included in FOAs for clinical trial applications and solicitations for due dates on/after January 25, 2018.
new Human Subject Information form requirements for clinical trials that will be included in updated application forms (FORMS-E) for due dates on/after January 25, 2018, and contract solicitations published as of January 25, 2018.
use of a single IRB for non-exempt, multi-site clinical trials for application due dates on/after January 25, 2018.
expanded registration and reporting to include all NIH supported clinical trials on http://clinicaltrials.gov/.

A new Clinical Trial Requirements for NIH Grantees and Contractors web page has been developed (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials.htm) to bring together all the information you need to know.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Grand Challenges Explorations

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is inviting proposals for the latest round of Grand Challenges Explorations. Grand Challenges Explorations fosters early-stage discovery research to expand the pipeline of ideas for solving our greatest global health and development challenges. Launched in 2008 with an initial $100 million commitment from the foundation, Grand Challenges Explorations grants have already been awarded to more than 1300 researchers in more than 65 countries.

Grand Challenges Explorations is an initiative where initial grants are for USD $100,000 and successful projects are eligible to receive follow-on funding of up to USD $1 million. Proposals are solicited twice a year for an expanding set of global health and development topics. Applications are only two pages, and no preliminary data is required. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies.

We are accepting applications on the following three topics until Wednesday, November 8, 11:30 am Pacific Time:

Novel Approaches for Improving Timeliness of Routine Immunization Birthdose and Healthcare Worker Skill in Low-Resource Settings (https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/novel-approaches-improving-timeliness-routine-immunization-birthdose-and-healthcare-worker)
Healthy Minds for Adolescent Mothers: Achieving Healthy Outcomes for the Family (https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/healthy-minds-adolescent-mothers-achieving-healthy-outcomes-family-round-20)
Innovations for Integrated Diagnostics Systems (https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/innovations-integrated-diagnostics-systems-round-20)

Tips for applicants and critical characteristics for successful proposals can be found at https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/GCE_ApplicantTips.pdf.

Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science

Submit a letter of intent to Limited@ucr.edu by September 21, 2017.

Proposal submission deadline: October 10, 2017

Program Guidelines: NSF 17-575

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 3

Award amount: up to $600,000 for 3 years

NSF's Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) have joined to support the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program. This program supports active long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Mathematics (STEM) in-service and pre-service teachers, full-time community college faculty, and university faculty and students to enhance the scientific disciplinary knowledge and capacity of the STEM teachers and/or community college faculty through participation in authentic summer research experiences with engineering and computer science faculty researchers. The research projects and experiences all revolve around a focused research area related to engineering and/or computer science that will provide a common cohort experience to the participating educators. The K-12 STEM teachers and/or full-time community college faculty also translate their research experiences and new scientific knowledge into their classroom activities and curricula. The university team will include faculty, graduate and undergraduate students as well as industrial advisors. Involvement of graduate students in support of academic-year classroom activities is particularly encouraged. Partnerships with inner city, rural or other high needs schools are especially encouraged, as is participation by underrepresented minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities.

As part of the long-term partnership arrangements, university undergraduate/graduate students will partner with pre-college/community college faculty in their classrooms during the academic year to support the integration of the RET curricular materials into classroom activities.

This announcement features two mechanisms for support of in-service and pre-service K-12 STEM teachers and full-time community college faculty: (1) RET supplements to ongoing ENG and CISE awards and (2) new RET Site awards. RET supplements may be included outside this solicitation in proposals for new or renewed ENG and CISE grants or as supplements to ongoing ENG- and CISE-funded projects. RET in Engineering and Computer Science Sites, through this solicitation, are based on independent proposals from engineering and/or computer and/or information science departments, schools or colleges to initiate and conduct research participation projects for K-12 STEM teachers and/or full-time community college faculty.

More information can be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505170&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39&WT.mc_ev=click

UCR can only submit 3. If you are thinking of submitting notify limited@ucr.edu by Sept 21. If more than 3 want to, we’ll ask for more info

· Hurricane Impacted Birds

Here are some photos of birds from Florida, Texas and some of Caribbean Islands that were impacted by the recent hurricanes.

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